The Courier King: Rise of a New Mojave
by trickquestion
Summary: By the time the dust settles at Hoover Dam, Courier Seth has got New Vegas on a string. The world is his oyster, and he plans to claim every last pearl. *Continuation of Independent ending*
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

The City of New Vegas, the glittering jewel of the Mojave Wasteland, sits silent. Today, there are no clamouring drunken revelers trying to walk steady, no beaten gamblers spitting bitter curses, and no NCR military police yelling out at a clumsy pickpocket. The entire city sits in silence, in grim tribute to its new ruler.

Inside the towering Lucky 38 casino and virtual palace, a single man looks down on the city from the top floor penthouse. He has mildly pale Caucasian skin, blasted back chocolate hair, and a mustache that could only be described as "Machiavellian." His choice of clothing was a jet black business suit with a red tie, and a pair of authoritarian sunglasses shielded his eyes from the rising Mojave sun.

His name is Seth, last name withheld, and while he was once a humble courier, he is now the ruler of the entire city, that now sits silent, in testimony to his deeds.

The sound of a single rolling tire caught his attention. "High there boss!" greeted an robotic voice that was offered great praise, but didn't make the speaker sound snivelling. It was Yes Man, the one reprogrammed securitron, and the reason that Vegas has a new master. "I got those reports you asked for, and may I say that I feel MUCH better now that you purged that useless "assertive" program from me. I was such an idiot! You're the only one who can run Vegas right boss!"

Seth's face donned a tiny smirk. He had been a tad panicked when he realized his cheerful robot slave was no longer going to obey his every command, but as a Robotics Expert, it proved to be as simple fix. Now Yes Man was totally obedient, and served as the cornerstone of Seth's new empire. Although the robot's primary code matrix and programming network had been installed into the Lucky 38's computer grid, where it controlled every securitron in the Courier's vast army, and small subsystem existed inside this specially modified unit, which served a the Courier's assistant, bodyguard, talking calculator, and rolling encyclopedia.

"Did you send out the messangers?" asked the Courier as he took the aft-mentioned reports.

"I sure did boss! We should receive our replies in a few days!" Yes Man responded.

"That will be all Yes Man." Seth spoke. The robot rolled away with another praise-filled remark, but the Courier wasn't listening. He looked over the papers which confirmed his beliefs: Everything went exactly according to plan. Seth closed his eyes and leaned back, for he was now truly the master of New Vegas.

His total victory now confirmed, Seth took a moment to mentally review his rise to power. After surviving Benny's attempt to murder him, he learned what he needed to from the townsfolk, and then helped Joe Cobb and his crew conquer the town, then helped the Powder Ganger's boss Eddie with some small problems. They were the first of many successes. He then traveled south to Primm, and installed the hard line Sheriff Meyers as the town's guardian. A brief run in with Ceaser's Legion in the ashes of Nipton left him impressed with the slaver's ruthlessness, but earned his scorn for their technological stupidity.

In Novac, he sacrificed a hapless lunatic to a greving sniper's wrath, and gained his first follower: Craig Boone. Manny Vargas's terminal proved laughably easy to hack, and the two continued North. Double crossed Great Khans gave up Benny's location, so Seth was generous enough to get the NCR to let them go. Finally, he reached Vegas.

Before entering The Tops, however, the Courier accepted an invitation from Mr. House, and became aware of the true scale of things. Realizing this was about more then just revenge, the Courier heard Benny out, then decided to take his scheme as his own. Mr. House was quickly eliminated, and Seth claimed the Lucky 38 as his own.

By now, the Courier had gained other followers: Veronica, the disillusioned Brotherhood of Steel member. Rose of Sharon Cassidy, the vengeful, washed up caravaner. Raul the Spainish gunfighting ghoul, the mysterious Arcade Gannon, and the unusual incomprehensible robot ED-E. With their support, Seth prepared the Wasteland for his accession.

When he learned the Powder Gangers were coming under attack, he and Raul rushed to their defense, fighting off the NCR and cementing the Courier's support for the ex-cons. With Veronica's help, Seth claimed HELIOS ONE and its deadly ARCHAMEDIES super-weapon as his own. Cass then assisted him in slaughtering both the Van Graff's (who were absorbed by the Garret Twins, people Seth was on excellent terms with) and the Crimson Caravans (who formed an integral part of the NCR supply line). When the King's conflict with NCR squatters reached a boiling point, the Courier brought down ARCHAMEDIES on the side of the King's, cementing himself as the hero of Freeside. When The King requested Seth seek treatment for his cyber-dog Rex, the Courier left ED-E with the Followers (further earning their trust) and set out for Jacobstown.

Doctor Henry was able to treat Rex with the brain of a Fiend Dog the Courier had collected during his extermination of the uncontrollable junkies, recognizing that they would cause nothing but trouble for him. Before leaving the Super Mutant refuge, this time with Lily in tow, Seth slaughtered the NCR mercs and unleashed the Nightkin into the wastes, ensuring the NCR would have one more front to fight.

REPCONN was a bloodbath. Having decided to earn the respect of the small town, The Courier unleashed the now unmediated Lily on the sight. Her fellow Nightkin never suspected a thing until she was ripping their arms from their sockets, and the Ghouls proved no match for the Courier's laser weapons.

Turning his eyes back to The Strip, Seth assisted Mortimer in returning the White Glove Society to the old ways. Seth knew they would support him, as he too had tasted the sweetest meat of all...

Next came the Omertas. After discovering their plan to attack The Strip, The Courier launched his most devious plot yet. After selling out Cachico, he supplied Troike with his missing weapon shipment and Clanden his Chlorine gas. He then took Boone with him to Cottonwood Cove and later Fortification Hill. Having laid his ghost's and conscience to rest at Bitter Springs, Boone carved a path of destruction through the Legion camp, until even Caeser himself could not escape his sights.

In an odd reversal of fortune, The Courier had Benny tied down an at his mercy. Rather then kill him however, Seth untied Benny and allowed him to flee. After all, without Benny, Seth would never have discovered the true importance of the Platinum Chip and would have blindly delivered it to Mr. House. The two men parted on friendly terms, and the massive trail of Legion blood and guts Benny had to wade through to leave definitely discouraged him from returning to cause trouble. After upgrading the Securitron Army, The Courier returned to the Omertas and informed them the support for their little plan had evaporated. Instead, he made them an offer: Support me when the time comes, or I'll sick the upgraded Securitrons on you.

Seth's plan wasn't actually too diffrent from Caeser's, the only differences were that the Ultra Lux was to be spared, the NCR Embassy to be hit first, and the Monorail to Camp McCarren to be seized. Intimidated by The Courier's murder of Caeser in his own base, and sensing opprotunity in a Vegas that would still accept tourists, they accepted.

All that was left were the Boomers, Great Khans and Brotherhood. Veronica gave Seth access to the bunker, having decided to sever all ties to the organization after an unfortunate incident involving the Followers of the Apocalypse, and the Courier brought the whole bunker down on top of them.

The Boomer's were impressed by Seth's scientific knowledge and general helpfulness, and a full alliance was established between them and The Courier's Vegas.

Finally, the Khans. Being on friendly terms with the Mongolian wannabes (having rescued a group of them in Boulder City, a drug runner at Cottonwood Cove, and convinced Samuel Cook's Powder Ganger's to join) it was easy to convince Papa Khan to break ties with the already damaged Legion. When the Khan leader consulted the Courier on how to solidify their legacy, Seth offered them a new partnership: once he gained control of Vegas, he would supply the Khans with all the guns, food, medicine and explosives they need to conquer Wyoming and other northern lands. Seeing no other option, they accepted.

Finally, the battle for the Hoover Dam erupted shortly after President Kimball's assassination. The Boomer's bomber annihilated the NCR forces, while the Remnants and turncoat Khans began slaughtering the Legion, while the Securitrons blasted both sides. Legate Lanius was killed by The Courier and Arcade, and General Oliver was thrown off the Hoover Dam by Yes Man. This was hardly the end for the two leaderless factions however.

During the Battle of the Dam, the Legion force at Nelson, bruised but not beaten, launched a desperate attack on Novac. When they arrived, however, three people stood against them, Craig Boone, Manny Vargas, and surprisingly, Victor. The Securitron had been reprogrammed for loyalty to the Courier shortly before the battle, and the combination of his heavy firepower and the ex-snipers' pinpoint accuracy proved to be too much for the Legion, who fled without causing a single casualty.

The King's used the battle as an opprotunity to attack any remaining NCR forces in Freeside. Raul and Rex had been sent by the Courier, and together, they drove out ever last squatter from the slums. The Followers sealed up their Fort for the duration of the fighting, but have agreed to provide medical treatment to the Courier's human minions. The Atomic Wrangler also agreed to a protective contract.

Despite heavy losses to their leadership, the Fiends launched a desperate attack on McCarren during the battle, both sides suffered heavy losses, but the fighting took a surprising turn when the Boomer's took to the field, using their Grenade Launchers and Bazooka's to blow away both sides, who had mixed together into a brutal melee. The Courier told them that any Boomer's not at the Dam were free to attack the airport and steal any airplanes they could. Overwhelmed by the thought of having numerous aircraft from which they could rain high explosives, they Boomer's set foot outside their secluded enclave for the first time in many years and captured several aircraft and boxes upon boxes of spare parts.

When the Omertas attacked The Strip, Veronica (her power armor filter keeping her safe from the gas) shut down the monorail, leaving the NCR trapped at McCarren to face certain death. As agreed, the Omertas spared the Ultra Lux, and reduced the Embassy to rubble.

That was yesterday, and the city still sits silent into tribute to its new leader's ruthless cunning. The Courier wanted more then just The Strip, however.

He wanted the entire world.

* * *

OK, so I felt a little ripped off by the fact that at the Independent ending, you don't get to become the new King of The Strip because Yes Man is suddenly more assertive. So this fanfic will basically be about my character (Seth) and what he will do now that The Strip and its Securitron Army are at his command.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: The beginning of the beginning.

Several hours had passed since Yes Man's report, and The Courier was enjoying a relaxing beverage in the Lucky 38's cocktail lounge when the elevator opened with a *ding.* Out stepped several of several of the victorious Courier's allies, and they meant business.

The King, Mortimer, The Garret Twins, and Nero walked in. "Gentlemen, welcome to the Lucky 38!" Seth greeted with just a hint of sarcasam. "Let's talk business."

The faction heads sat down at several chairs at a long table, with the Courier occupying the seat of honor. "Yes Man should be here any minute with drinks. Now before I explain why you are all here, I'd like to make sure that everything is going as expected and you are all satisfied with our current arrangement."

"No complaints from me good buddy." The King spoke first. "Everyone has a lot more elbow room now that those solider boys have been kicked out."

"The White Glove Society is also pleased with current developments." Mortimer spoke next. "Without NCR scrutiny, things have been going much smoother."

"We got a huge surge in customers during the last few days, but I am concerned that some of those NCR squatters may have been our customers." Francine Garret added, voicing the first dissenting opinion.

"While The Omertas are glad to see the operation proceeded as planned, we share the Garret's concerns over business." Nero spoke last. "We'll withhold our disapproval until given reason to believe you intend to leave The Strip bare."

"While you both raise valid concerns, I would like to remind you who has the Securitrons here. Me." The Courier stated. "You'll do as I say or else they'll roll into your tacky casinos and wipe you all out. Ah good, Yes Man has arrived with the drinks!" he exclaimed after seeing the submissive robot roll up with a tray of beverages. Seth took a long gulp from a glass of wine as the beverages were passed out. "But don't worry, if I didn't see some value in leaving you standing, I'd have wiped you out already. All of you have a place in my vision of Vegas, and plus I've become rather fond of all of you during the course of my little adventure." he took another sip of wine. "Yes Man, is this pre-war?"

"It certainly is boss. You and your friends deserve only the best!" Yes Man replied. By now, the other guests seemed somewhat disturbed.

"Lovely. Enough pleasantries though, let's talk business." Seth spoke in a more serious tone. "Mortimer, Nero, you two will be able to run your casinos as normal. However, since access to The Strip is going to be a little slow, I'm giving you access to Camp McCarren to take whatever you want. The Boomers and Securitrons have already grabbed a few choice pieces, but everything else, guns, ammunition, food, medicine, it's all yours to do whatever with."

"What do you plan to do with the base once we finish picking over the ruins?" asked Mortimer.

"The Securitrons are gonna occupy it and open the monorail up for the general public." Seth answered. He then turned to The King and the Garrets. "Unlike Mr. House, I have no intentions of abandoning Freeside. I've sent Arcade Gannon to the Followers of the Apocalypse with plans for a little... urban renewal. I'll divert water and electricity to the area, and Securitrons will provide the heavy lifting. My overall goal is to transform Freeside into a prosperous community that will both attract and be able to support new non-NCR residents."

"That sounds all right and dandy, but what will The Kings need to do?" The King asked.

"For now, nothing more then you already do: work with the Followers to keep Freeside under control. Inform the people that the new management on The Strip is looking out for them, and that they should cooperate." The Courier answered. "I'm also gonna send you guys a steady flow of caps to buy equipment with. I'm working out a bulk deal with the Gun Runners at the moment."

"It certainly sounds like that will bring more business to the Wrangler, but this is gonna take a long time to get done." James Garret spoke up. "We need to maintain steady profits."

"On the contrary, if you follow my plan your profits will skyrocket." Seth assured. "I want you to take possession of the massive, and currently unowned, stockpiles of the Van Graff family and the Crimson Caravan. Cass and I exterminated the personal of both organizations, but we were only able to loot what we could carry. Send your guys into the warehouses and clean them out. Then, get the caravans moving again. To help you save costs, I'll rent out Securitrons to both provide security and carry cargo. There's only one condition: I get first bid on any high end laser weapons."

"That's a generous offer, but what's the catch?" Francine Garret asked cynically. "No one is that genorus out of the goodness of their heart."

"That's why I like doing business with you guys: sharp as a box of tacks." The Courier replied appreciatively. "I am going to expect a return from all of you at some point, but I none of you are really... how should I say this? Developed, at this point in time. Join me in my vision of Vegas, and I'll make each of your organizations more powerful then you could have ever been on your own. At some point or the other, I am gonna have to put taxes on you, but by then, you'll be making more money in a day then you used to in a week! You'll barely notice it's gone! Have I not already demonstrated that I feel far more goodwill and respect for you then Mr. House ever did? The fact I'm meeting you face to face should be proof of that!"

A murmmer of agreement rose from the others. "I suppose I can agree to those terms." The King spoke after a few moments of deliberation. The others likewise expressed their decision to support The Courier.

"Splendid." Seth replied. "That pretty much covers everything! Yes Man, show our guests out." he ordered as everyone rose from the table. "I'll send messengers to with the minute details of everyone's parts in this grand design. Feel free to contact me if any problems should arise."

Once everyone had left, The Courier turned to Yes Man. "Has the radio equipment been set up yet?" he asked.

"It certainly has boss! Should I open communications with Nellis?" Yes Man replied.

"Yeah, yeah you should."

Meanwhile, over is Westside, Tom Anderson was reading a slew of reports concerning the Co-Op he had been running with stolen NCR water. Someone knocked on his door. "Come in!" he called. Through the doorway stepped a mildly thuggish individual, wearing a typical Merc Charmer outfit, but with a strange symbol knitted onto the right breast: two parallel lines with a diamond shape caught between them, the diamond's points touching the center of the lines.

"Got a message from my boss here. He says to read it, and send me back with a reply." the henchman stated, and handed the Follower an envelope. It read:

Anderson, as I'm sure you know already, I have routed both the NCR and Caeser's Legion from the Dam, and am now in command of the Securitrons. I have helped Westside before, and now I wish to do so again. Inside this letter is some data I collected from a Vault pertaining to plant growth, I'm sure you'll find it useful. I will still be collecting my 20% of the co-op, but since I'm giving Freeside both water and that data, I'll need a share of the harvest to feed my new city. One more thing: Securitrons will be passing through in a couple of days. Don't interfere. I'm sending them to exterminate what's left of the Fiends. Once the area outside Westside is secure, feel free to start planting crops there too. One of my men will be back in three days for the first payment.

From, your new partner, Seth.

Anderson seemed unsure about this. If The Courier wants to expand Vegas, there's not a whole lot anyone could do to stop the Securitrons. Still, this deal could be a boon for Westside, provided it's done carefully. Anderson scratched out a short, accepting reply and gave it to the messenger. "Tell your boss I accept his terms."

Back in The Lucky 38, The Courier hung up an old style hamburger phone and grinned. With Raul's help, several captured NCR radios had been refurbished into pre-war telephone cases and hooked into The Lucky 38's power grid. The boost in signal allowed the Courier to communicate over long distances with anyone possessing an appropriate receiver. Such receivers are currently in the hands of Papa Khan, Mother Pearl, and Eddie.

The Boomer matriarch had been on the other end of the line. Seth had been calling to congratulate The Boomers on their successful capture of numerous aircraft from Camp McCarren, as well as discuss their eventual use. An understanding had been reached between Mother Pearl and The Courier: their two factions have become permanently bound together, and their enemies will forever see them as one. As thanks for delivering so many aircraft to them, The Boomers have pledged to support The Courier and his New Vegas in any way they can. It was decided that the new bomber's first mission shall be to rain down high ordinance on the most ignorant and backwards of savages: Caeser's Legion. The plan was for the Boomers to cripple the Legion beyond repair by bombing the long train of retreating soldiers as they wearily march home. The air raids will begin in two days.

"Yes Man!" Seth called, and a few seconds later the loyal robot rolled in.

"What can I help you with sir?" he asked in his typically helpful voice.

"It's time to mobilize the army. Send three squads south towards Sloan and clear out the Deathclaws, then make the Quarry Workers an offer. Tell them I'll give them a 5% raise and pay them in caps if they agree to send the marble to me instead of the NCR. If no agreement can be reached, shoot 'em."

"You got it boss! Once those Deathclaws are out of the way, more people can come to Vegas and spend their money!" Yes Man praised. "Also, Veronica and Raul have left for Black Mountain."

"Keep me posted on that." Seth replied. "Now get out of here, I've got paperwork to do."

Elsewhere, others are meeting to undermine the prosperity this new regime will bring...

"You sure this is the real stuff?" asked a gruff voice that may or may not belong to a Ghoul.

"Positive baby. Saw the tests come back green myself." answers a swanky sounding man. "When you've got my kinda connections, the sky's the limit. All you need is the right looks, the right clothes, and the right caps to score twenty barrels of F.E.V."

* * *

A/N: Duhn Duhn DUH! Seems not everyone is happy with the new boss, and plan to use F.E.V. to try and bring him down! Bonus points to anyone who guesses who the two conspirators are. They're both from the game and not OC's


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Sloan Shootout.

A week had passed, and things were proceeding perfectly. Veronica and Raul has successfully reached Black Mountain, and were busy repairing and recalibrating the radio systems there to both boost signal strength and connected it to the Lucky 38. A steady supply of food was being imported from the (greatly improved) West Vegas Co-Op, and tourism was beginning to rise once more.

A problem had arisen, however. As the NCR troops retreated from Camp McCarren, many had stopped to rest at Sloan on their way to the Mojave Outpost to flee west. When they resumed flight however, many were being cut down by Powder Gangers based both at the NCRCF and in Goodsprings, which had been unofficially renamed "Powder Springs." The Powder Gangers, having received a great deal of aid from The Courier, had pledged themselves to his cause, and only grow better equipped with each NCR party they kill or capture. Eventually they just stopped trying, and now Sloan is packed full of desperate, rundown NCR personal with nowhere to go.

Chomp Lewis had been open to the idea of switching sides due to his family connections with The Courier's other allies, the Great Khans. When the wave of bitter, retreating troops discovered this, they arrested him and locked him inside the Machine Shop. Now, a tense standoff was underway between the trapped NCR forces in Sloan, the Powder Gangers to the south, and the Securitrons to the north. Little did the downtrodden troops know they have a mole in their midst.

"Where the hell is he?" asked Joe Cobb. He and two other Powder Gangers were hold up inside a blast-scorched boxcar on the tracks south of Sloan. It was night time, and they were waiting for their insider to deliver the scheduled report. He leaned his head out of the car, but still no sign of the contact. "Fuck man, if the NCR spots us, they'll pick us off like flies!" As he says that, the cold steel barrel of an over-sized handgun came out of the darkness and pressed against his skull.

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead already." came a gravely cold voice from the darkness. A few seconds later the gun was drawn away, and Craig Boone stepped into the boxcar. He holstered the Ranger Sequioa and leaned against the wall. "Is everything set?"

"Shit man, you're gonna give me a fucking heart attack with all that shit!" Cobb exclaimed. He then added, "Yeah, we got the Powder Charges all over the road, and the big crate of dynamite's ready to blow. What's the plan for driving 'em this way?"

"The NCR has been planning a break-through for a few days now. Part of that plan is sending someone out someone to blow up the TNT cache over in the West Camp. I volunteered, and now that explosion is going to be their signal to head towards Goodsprings, which they would then attempt to capture." Boone explained. "They also set up some portable turrets they brought with them from McCarren. Those are hooked up to the generator, and the turrets will be turned on to cover the retreat. I've rigged the generator to give out after a minute or two. The sound of the Powder Charges going off is the signal for the troops to the north to start attacking them from the rear. You guys will take care of anyone who gets through the minefield. Think you can handle that?" he asked sharply.

"Yeah, we can handle it. Here's the detonator to a C-4 block back at the stash. Give us twenty minutes to set up." Joe Cobb answered. "The NCR won't know what hit 'em."

* * *

Back at Sloan, some troops are setting up one last turret, making the total number of stationary guns four. "These aren't going to hold back those robots for very long sir." spoke one of the technicians as Colonel Hsu approached.

"All the more reason to make every second count." he spoke reassuringly. "Here comes Boone. Why haven't the charges gone off?"

The cold hearted sniper approached Hsu. "Don't worry about: The Powder Gangers had some C-4 in the cache, so I armed a few bricks and stole a detonator. I can set it off at any time." Boone explained.

"That's good thinking, we could use a few more minutes to prepare." The Colonel replied.

"Look, if it's all right with you, once the shooting starts, I'll head inside and deal with the old man before leaving with rest of you." Boone volunteered.

Hsu seemed somewhat relieved at this. "I knew we were gonna have to take care of him, but thanks for not making me order one of the others to do it." he said with a weary voice. "It's never easy, shooting a man on his knees."

Boone seemed indifferent. "Right, until them, I'm gonna set up behind that rock." he said gruffly before walking away. After a few minutes of setup, he readied the detonator and pulled the trigger.

To the north, a small band of toughs dressed in green combat armor and helmets and armed with various shotguns stood behind a line of Mk. II Securitrons. The men's armor had the red parallel bar/diamond symbol on the right shoulder. The sound of a single large explosion in the distance caught their attention. "Alright boys, weapons ready. When the second blasts start going off, we go in." spoke the squad leader.

"Alright everyone, let's go! We need to get to Goodsprings, on the double!" Colonel Hsu yelled, and the troops began hurrying down the road, two Heavy Troopers taking positions behind the north facing sandbags to hold off the attack. Boone was camped out behind some rocks in a ditch in front of a fence. Everything seemed to be going fine, until the front-most NCR trooper tripped on a rock and landed on his face. When he looked up, a ticking tin can was right in front of his nose.

"What the...?" were the trooper's last indignent words before his head was scattered into uncountable pieces.

Back at Sloan, the sound of the explosion caused everyone to jump. "Shit, they must have landmines..." cursed Hsu. He quickly regained his composure and addressed his troops. "Everyone, keep your eyes open and stay at least two feet apart. We can't let this slow us down!" No one noticed Boone sneak away in all the fighting.

By now the Securitrons had come within firing range of the Heavy Troopers, but their Light Machine guns weren't making a dent in the robot's heavy armor. The Securitrons opened fire with their grenade launchers, blinding the Heavy Troopers and rattling the men inside against the thick steel plating.

Down the road, several more NCR troopers had been lost to Powder Charges, but the Jean Sky Diving shack was in sight! As they got closer however, Powder Gangers armed with scoped Varmint Rifles and 9mm Pistols jumped from the shack and opened fire on the approaching soldiers.

"Don't give up! We either push past them or we die!" rallied Colonel Hsu, pushing the troopers to fight harder...

Back in Sloan, the NCR's Heavy Troopers had been blow to pieces, and the Securitrons had rolled into the "town center" and started gunning down the greatest threats, such as Rangers and elite troops, while the human squad began blasting basic troops and civilian refugees and engineers with their Riot and Hunting shotguns, which turned out to be loaded with bean bag shot.

Back at Jean's Sky Diving, two soldiers kick open the shack door. The Powder Gangers retreated as the NCR got closer, allowing them to keep harassing the troops from a distance with their scoped weapons. The two troopers inside the shack are carrying a third solider, who took and 5.56 AP round to the shoulder. They ducked inside hoping the shack would protect them long enough to treat their buddy's wound with a stimpack.

Of course, that was before they knew about the Ganger with the Flamer inside the shack...

The Securitrons, having discovered they cannot fit through the shack doors back at Sloan, simply charged forward and smashed through sides. The machines wiped out the inhabitants of the Administrative Building, while the Vegas Soldiers captured everyone inside the barracks (which had been converted into an infirmary) and the Mess Hall.

The blasted, beaten remains of the NCR force finally reached Goodsprings. Colonel Hsu lead his remaining eight troopers inside the saloon. Two were badly wounded, and most of them had run out of ammo. They'd have to dig in here and hope some troops would arrive from the Mojave Outpost...

"Would you look at this boys, we got visitors." came a mocking voice from across the room. Colonel Hsu then saw Joe Cobb and about six fresh and fully armed Powder Gangers come out from every nook, corner and cranny inside the saloon and surrounded them. Three more came in through the front door the NCR personnel had just come in through, leaving them totally surrounded.

The Colonel sighed in defeat, realizing he'd have to surrender. "Alright, I know when I'm beaten. My name is James Hsu, Colonel of the NCR's eight battal..."

"Would you look at that, a fucking Colonel!" Joe exclaimed sarcastically, cutting Hsu off. "Look here solider boy, normally, I'd just shoot you. But my boss needs you and your troops alive for some fucking reason, so you better drop your guns if you want to live!"

"Do what he says men." Hsu responds while removing his 10mm pistol and holding it out backwards. A Powder Ganger snatches it away, and the other troops throw down their weapons. "We surrender unconditionally."

Back at Sloan, the fighting has finally died down, and everyone on the NCR side is either dead or captured. The door to the Machine Shop unlocks then swings open, and out step Boone and Chomp Lewis, free as a bird.

About an hour later, Joe Cobb, Craig Boone, James Hsu (hands tied) and Chomp Lewis are standing around in the center of Goodsprings. It is day now, and a number of Powder Gangers and Securitrons are milling about. Suddenly a loud noise fills the air, and the wind begins to pick up. One of the Securitrons snaps to attention as its face goes from Solider to Yes Man. After a few minutes, a Vertibird becomes visible, and proceeds to touch down in the center of town, a few feet away from the assembled crowd.

As soon as the rotors stop moving, a ramp extends from the aircraft, and The Courier steps out, followed by Enclave veteran Orion Monroe clad in full power armor. Most of the Remnants had decided to go East after The Battle of Hoover Dam, but The Courier had convinced Daisy Whitman and Orion Monroe to stay behind. Daisy had been convinced to stay with the promise of flying Vertibirds, and Orion had been persuaded to lead The Courier's forces against the NCR.

"Boone, status report." The Courier demanded.

"Sloan is under our control. All NCR forces have been killed or captured, and Chomp Lewis is alive and unharmed. Minimal casualties have been sustained by the Powder Gangers and Securitrons, and last headcount indicates POW count to be 41." the cold sniper declared. "Also, you owe me a bonus."

The Courier let out a short, dry chuckle. "It seems I do. Your reward is waiting inside the Vertibird Boone. You may take a seat now if you wish while I finish up with our friends here." he replied. Boone walked onto the Vertibird without saying a word. "How long until the Quarry is running again?"

"None of the machinery was damaged in the fighting, so work should resume once the workers are all set up." Chomp answered.

"It shouldn't take more then a few days to get the NCR shits all locked up. We just need to make some repairs to the buildings back in Sloan." Joe Cobb added. "Shit, how ironic is this? Now we're the ones forcing the NCR to slave away."

"Very, Mayor Cobb, very. I'll be leaving a few Securitrons behind, just to make sure everyone stays in line." The Courier replied. He then motioned to Orion Monroe. "One more thing. This is General Orion Monroe. I've put him in charge of planning our attack on the Mojave Outpost. Any orders he give should be obeyed as if I issued them, and he is to be shown every hospitality." Joe and Chomp nodded in understanding. "Well, I really need to be going. Mayor Cobb, Mayor Lewis." he spoke before beginning to walk towards the Vertibird. Suddenly, The Courier stopped. "Almost forgot." he muttered while drawing 32. caliber pistol. Before anyone could react, The Courier spun around and shot Colonel Hsu in the eye once, killing him instantly.

A few minutes after the Vertibird had flown off into the sunset, Cobb ordered one of his men to clean up the dead Colonel, and everone went back to work.

* * *

A/N: And so, Sloan has fallen to Vegas. Who will be next on the Courier's hit list? Does the NCR stand a chance? Will the Legion make a comeback? Why am I asking you all these questions?

Also, a big thank you goes out to the Fallout Wiki The Vault, which proved invaluable in getting everything right for this chapter.

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Acts of War

Four days after the capture of Sloan, "renovations" began on The Tops. Since The Chairmen had all been wiped out in the Omerta's gas attack, The Courier decided to strip The Tops and transform it into a housing complex for his soldiers and citizens to live in.

"Sweet Jesus. Baby, what have they done to you?" were the first words out of Swank's mouth when he stepped into the lobby and saw the construction underway. Securitrons with hard-hat wearing workmen faces labored along with humans and other models of robot workers (built at the re-opened Cerulean Robotics in Freeside) to upend tables, rip out slots, and any other actions needed to convert a casino to a housing complex. Similar work is being done all throughout Freeside, but that's not of immediate importance to the story.

Swank snapped himself from his stunned daze and became determined. He wasn't here to lolly-gag, he had a job to do. He quickly headed to the elevator leading to the Presidential suite. Only one Securitron was present, and it wasn't at work. "Identify yourself, citizen." it demanded.

"Call me Swank, unit 3681." spoke the Chairmen. At the sound of the code-phrase, the Securitron began to buzz and fizzle, until becoming perfectly normal again.

"Sub program initiated. Moving to pre-programed coordinates." It responded, then rolled away. During the Battle of Sloan, he and Chris Haversam had used a homemade EMP mine to shut down a Securitron. They brought it back to the REPCONN facility and installed a gas bomb inside the robots metal frame. Every Securitron has an un-overideable program preventing them from harming the Courier, so the bomb would be remotely detonated by Swank. If the blast doesn't get him, the F.E.V. gas inside will.

Swank grinned as he headed to the elevator. When he had shown up at the REPCONN facility, he was just looking for components to build a bomb. What he found instead was someone who hated The Courier as much as he did: Chris Haversam. When The Courier and Lily decided to slaughter everyone inside the facility to win the support of Novac (which had since joined New Vegas voluntarily) Chris escaped by locking himself inside a fuel storage chamber. The safety seals on the radioactive barrels had long since broken, however, and when Swank found him, Chris actually was the ghoul he had always believed himself to be.

Swank himself had been lucky enough to be off The Strip during the takeover, and wasn't slaughtered with the other Chairmen. After discussing his plan with Chris, they decided a gas bomb (for irony) inside an unwitting robot would be the best way to do it. Swank used every cap left to his name to get that F.E.V. gas, and now that the carrier was set, they just have to wait for it to get close to Seth.

Elsewhere, a caravan of three brahmin and five NCR troopers are gathered around a campfire, resting after a day of hard travel. The brahmin were set up in a quarter circle around the soldiers and the fire, with a couple of large rocks guarding their backs. They were part of an NCR salvaging team. The Courier's Vegas now encompassed everything North of The Strip (save Jacobstown) and stretched south to Novac and Goodsprings. The NCR, having relocated their HQ to the Mojave Outpost, had taken control of Primm and set up camp in the ruins of Nipton. The area East of there and South of Novac was a gray area. Neither side had the forces to secure the former Legion territory, so the NCR would send salvaging parties like the previously mentioned caravan into the area to augment the Mojave Outpost's dwindling supplies as they wait for reinforcements from the West.

The team in question was on their way back from Cottonwood Cove. After The Courier and Boone exterminated the Legion forces on their rampage that ended with Caesar's death, The Legion planned on reclaiming it after the Battle of The Dam. When they lost that, the Cove was left abandoned. The NCR scavengers knew they had made an important find: radiation suits, enough for a scavenging party to pick over Camp Searchlight. What they did not know was that they were being watched.

"I count five of them, Commander Cassidy." spoke a Hispanic man with an Unsettler haircut. He was wearing a Merc Troublemaker and had a 44. revolver on his waist, a grenade rifle over his back and a pair of binoculars in his hands. Standing next to him is Rose of Sharon Cassidy, former companion of The Courier and now the leader of Rose's Raiders.

Rose's Raiders are a specilized branch of The New Vegas military. The unit is composed of absorbed tribals, ex-raiders and anyone who displays excellent survival and guerilla combat skills. Utilizing Rose's knowledge of caravaning tactics, they live of the land behind enemy lines and disrupt enemy supply lines.

"So how do you want to do this commander?" asked a female raider wearing a merc veteran outfit and carrying a 10mm sub-machine gun with an extended magazine. "Should we wait until morning and attack as they pack up?"

"No, the pack up is when they're gonna be most alert. We'll be fucked if we try to hit them then." Cass responded. "Best bet is to hit them during the shift change. Max and Randy will hit the look out and his relief as they switch. Then Duster, Abbey and Milo will get close and shoot the others at close range."

About twenty minutes later, one guard awoke and went to relive the other. Max, armed with a Varmint Rifle with a night scope and silencer, and Randy, carrying a Sniper Rifle also modified with a silencer. When both trooper's heads were within sight, both snipers fired near simultaneously, cutting down both soldiers. Without a word, the other three Raiders moved in.

One of the troopers was not quite dead, however, and with his last ounces of strength drew his sidearm (a 10mm pistol) and fired once into the air, awakening his fellow troopers. The remaining three soldiers jumped out of their sleeping bags, noticed their dead comrades, and grabbed their weapons.

"Aw shit. Well, no point in sneaking around." Cass added while drawing her Hunting Shotgun. "EVERYONE, ATTACK!" The raiders rushed forward at the startled NCR soldiers. One bulky raider opened up with a Light Machine Gun which cut down a pack brahmin. As soon as the bulky animal was out of the way, however, the huddled NCR troopers returned fire, cutting down that raider and two others. One of the mercs then retaliated with a frag grenade. It took out the remaining brahmin and one solider.

The raider who first spotted the caravan blew away one trooper with his revolver, and the final trooper dodged a hail of submachine gun fire and hide behind a rock. A few seconds later he felt the cold barrel of a Hunting Shotgun press up against the back of his head.

That was the last thing he felt.

Cass shouldered her weapon as she surveyed the damage. Three of her guys were down and they didn't even have any brahmin to show for it. The usual attack plan is to wipe out the soldiers as quickly as possible without hurting the pack animals. The contents of the caravan were then sorted out, with anything valuable like guns, explosives, chems or technology loaded onto the brahmin. The brahmin were then taken to either Goodsprings or Novac. The items would be distributed accordingly, while the animals themselves sent to one of the many small ranches that formed after the collapse of Heck Gunderson's corrupt ranching empire owing their allegiance to The Courier's Vegas or to Vegas Caravans, a new trade company built on the remains of Crimson Caravans. Everything else was burned.

Of course, none of that mattered this time, seeing how no brahmin were left... "Commander, take a look at this!" a subordinate shouted, interrupting Cass's train of thought. She walked over to see what they found, and was pleasantly surprised at what she saw.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Yep, and it's in really good condition too. We also found some mini nukes and a few radiation suits!" replied the raider.

Cass was grinning from ear to ear at this point. "Well, we're gonna have to carry this stuff back to Novac ourselves, but we're sure gonna get a reward when we deliver a fully functioning Fat Man and eight fucking mini nukes!"

Meanwhile, over in Goodsprings...

Inside Doc. Mitchell's former residence, Orion Moreno looks over a map of the region with various lines, arrows, and circles added on in red and blue ink. The Powder Ganger leader Eddie and second in command of The Kings Pacer stand on the other side of the table, while a Securitron watches all three of them.

"So then our strategy is prepared." Orion stated, closing a discussion they'd been having. He then turned to the robot. Contact Vegas and let them know we attack Mojave Outpost in three weeks!"

* * *

A/N: Not a whole lot to say about this chapter. Swank's plot is explained and set in motion, while operations against the NCR continue. Rate and Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Spy Games.

Inside The Courier's penthouse HQ, three thuggish individuals stand before the head honcho of New Vegas' desk. On the desk, sits a Hunting Revolver. Upon closer examination, one might notice that a single bullet was missing.

"Anyone mind telling me what this is?" Seth asked while holding the gun up.

"Uh... a gun?" asked the largest and dumbest of the three.

"Brilliant deduction my friend, brilliant deduction." Seth replied in a deadpan tone. "Yes, it's a gun. A gun that was recently used to try and kill a floor manager at the Gomorrah. A gun that should NOT BE ON MY STRIP!"

"But we bring guns on the Strip to kill people all the time boss." the dumb one spoke again as his two "friends" inched away from him.

Seth narrowed his eyes. "Is this some kind of joke to you? Because it's not funny." he said incredulously. "You see, funny is like this." he spoke while making a happy expression. "Not funny is like this." he continued while making an angry expression. "Right now, I'm not like," (makes happy expression) "I'm like," (makes angry expression) "Got it?"

"Uhhhhh... BANG!" the dimwhit's reply was cut off by the sound of the Hunting Revolver going off, fired by Seth and aimed at the goon's head.

"What is The Strip's policy on weapons?" Seth asked his remaining thugs.

"All tourist weapons are to be confiscated at the Strip gate and stored under lock and key at The King's School of Impersonation." One answered quickly.

"Exactly!" Seth exclaimed while tossing a cluster of papers into the air in frustration. "I try to make Vegas safer, and people do stuff like this! Do we have any leads?"

"Just one." the smarter thug replied while pulling out a photo of a man in sunglasses with orange hair and beard. "We took this photo outside the Gun Runner's factory. It's possible..." The explanation was cut short by Seth snatching away the photo.

"I know this guy." Seth spoke suddenly. "Break his kneecaps and bring him here."

A day later, the enigmatic Mister Holdout is talking to a shady looking gambler in a Vault 21 hotel room. "Let's get down to business." Holdout spoke while walking to the refrigerator. When he opens it, it becomes know that the fridge is not full of delightful foodstuffs, but deadly weapons of all kinds. In addition, it would seem the wall had been drilled into behind the fridge to create space for more weapons.

"Now from what you've told me you need something small, quiet but strong enough to do the job in a few shots. May I suggest this little beauty..." Holdout said while procuring a 10mm pistiol with a silencer. "Fresh off the line 10mm sidearm, with a custom made silencer and a full clip of specially made Hollow Point ammunition."

The gambler looked at the gun thoughtfully for a few moments. "Looks good, but I've already got one." he said before pulling a Sawed-Off Shotgun from inside his coat, then fired at Holdout's knees, one shell into each cap.

Holdout fell to the floor screaming in pain as two other goons with guns burst in. Ten minutes later he was tied to a chair in the Lucky 38's basement. Fifteen minutes after that it was discovered that Holdout was originally an agent of the NCR who was being paid to sell holdout weapons to destabilize the Strip, and open it to NCR conquest. When the NCR was driven out and all weapons were banned on The Strip, he teamed up with the Gun Runners to smuggle weaponry in. Vault 21 employees were bribed to replace containers of food with weapons, then deliver them to Holdout's room, where he'd sell them to tourists with grudges. A few hours later, Holdout was floating face down in Lake Mead.

"The Gun Runners?" The Courier exclaimed when he heard Mister Holdout's confession. "I know they don't like the contract I offered them but now they gotta be dealt with." He turned to Yes Man. "Get me a posse of goons, I'm gonna handle this personally."

A short time later, The Courier and Isaac stood across from each other outside the Gun Runners factory, each of them circled by a crowd of henchmen. The Courier also had two Sentry Bots flanking him.

"In light of... recent revelations, I will be seizing full control of the New Vegas branch of the Gun Runners. All weapons manufactured will be issued to my troopers or sold at my discretion. Accept these conditions and you get to keep your lives and jobs, with a mildly reduced paycheck. Refuse and we kill you, grind your carcasses into a fine powder and mix it into the cement being used to build a brothel in Freeside." Seth informed Issac.

Isaac seemed mildly amused by all this. "In case you've forgotten, me and the boys here are the only ones who know the manufacturing secrets of the factory equipment. If you kill us, you'll never get it to work."

At this, The Courier put his index finger on his chin and a thoughtful expression on his face. "Oh yeah, I guess I didn't think of that. We'll boys, I guess we should just had back to the Lucky 38... OH WAIT, I DID THINK OF THAT!" Seth spoke in a trailing voice before exploding halfway through "38." The Courier held up his Pip-Boy, which currently had a complected series of schematics displayed across it. "Back before my rise to power, during the 'Ruffian Years' as I like to call them, one Alice McLafferty hired me to steal your manufacturing secrets, and with the aid of a Stealth Boy, I did! While attending to other business, however, I became involved in a plot to kill Alice. After the deed was done, I decided to hang onto the blueprints. Therefore, you guys are unnecessary." Seth finished. Then, he snapped his fingers.

The Sentry Bots opened fire with their gatling guns, cutting down the Gun Runners in a merciless hail of bullets. When the barrels stopped spinning, the firearm crafters lay in a bleeding heap on the ground. Seth nonchalantly strolled over to the fallen. "You have... no idea... what you've start...ed." Issac wheezed out before finally dying.

"Well of course I know what I'm starting!" Seth exclaimed cheerfully. "Put an ad out for skilled enginers, I want this place making guns again ASAP." He added while strolling away.

Elsewhere, a small band of men in Advanced Radiation Suits are digging around the irradiated REPCONN rocket launch pad. Since Seth had slaughtered both the Ghouls and the Super Mutants personally, the rockets had been left abandoned. "Jesus Logan, I feel like I'm growing a third arm in this fucking radiation!"

"Relax, the suits and Rad-X have us covered, and we got enough Rad-X to turn our blood into the stuff!" the leader, apparently baned Logan, replied while scooping some radioactive goop into a lead-lined container. "Besides, we have what we need. Let's go collect our caps!"

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the long delay and filler-ish nature of this chapter, but next time the Battle of the Mojave Outpost erupts!

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Lightning Strikes Twice.

The time has come. The Courier's forces were mounting up for the battle that would kick the NCR out of the Mojave for good. In order to reach the Mojave Outpost, the Vegas solders would have to get past occupied town of Primm and the fortified remains of Nipton.

The plan for Nipton was to use artillery transported by rebuilt trucks and the Fat Man located by Cass to "bomb the living shit out of them," as the ex-caravaner put it. Since the roads out of Primm and Nipton converge near Mojave Outpost, most of the Courier's soldiers would attack at Primm, with a much smaller force clearing out any survivors at Niptom so that the artillery could move up and target the Outpost itself.

Primm itself was suffering under the oppressive NCR rule, and the hotblooded sheriff Meyers was only a day away from shooting it out with the soldiers when an agent of Vegas approached him, offering him the weapons needed to run out the NCR when Vegas Troopers invaded. The sheriff had put together and armed a band of like minded citizens to revolt as soon as the attack started, as well identified those holding NCR sympathies.

While these attacks were going down, the Boomers would strafe the rocky hills surronding the outpost to eliminate any NCR ambshes set up in the wilderness and drive them back to the Outpost, where they could be better exterminated by a little suprise the Great Khans had dug up in their journey to seize land in the name of the Courier to the North.

*Flashback*

Two Great Khans were poking around a ruined aerospace museum. They had just finished subjugating a village to the south and wanted to make sure no survivors were hiding here. One called out to the other when he found an exhibit of interest.

"After extensive restoration, this original Junkers Ju 87 diver bomber, better known as a 'Stuka' is fully functional. The Stuka was used heavily in W.W. II for air-to-ground strikes by the German- whoever the hell they are- military. It excelled at destroying ground targets but fared poorly against other aircraft." The first Khan read.

"We'd better tell Papa Khan." The second one replied.

*End Flashback*

With a little maintenance, the Boomers had restored the old aircraft to flying condition. The Courier became interested in using it to attack the Outpost because of its precision bombing capabilities. He didn't want to raze Mojave Outpost, just kill everyone inside. After the heavy bombers strafe the surrounding hills, the refurbished Stuka would dive in and sweep the Outpost with its machine guns while the troops from Primm march in. The moment the air strike has ended, the tip of Seth's attack force will be at the gate.

The infantry attack itself will be spearheaded by a two dozen elite shock troops wearing Power Armor. Pre-war data regarding the training of soldiers from the databases of the Enclave Remnant and Mr. House had proven valuable in expanding the non-robotic portion of the Army, and Veronica had discovered a way to convert the salvaged shells used by NCR Heavy Troopers back into fully functional Power Armor. The attack formation would be that of a spear, with the previously mentioned Power Armored Soldiers forming the tip. Filling out the rest of the "head" of the formation are various robotic minions, such as Securitrons, Mr. Gutsy and Sentry Drones. The shaft would be composed of regular human soldiers, ranging from Mercenaries, Freeside Thugs and Boomer Explosive Experts. Boone and Rose's Raiders, along with the artillery operators, would carry out the attack on Nipton

The force only numbered around 100 soliders, but they are far better equiped then the run down remains of the NCR army, which outnumber them 3-to-1. The NCR also has the high ground, but the Boomer supplied artillery and warplanes form a crucial angle of the Vegas strategem, and are being played as a game breaker.

Finally, it was time. The aircraft had just left the runway at Nellis Airforce Base, and the artillery trucks and mortars were aimed at Nipton. Seth arrived at Goodsprings to deliver a speech to the assembled soldiers. Raul had set up several speakers rigged to a podium directly in front of the former residence of the town doctor atop the hill overlooking Goodsprings. It was from this vantage point that the Courier would adress his forces, who are filling the streets of the town below.

"It is ironic to think, that in this very house, a little less then a year in the past, I underwent a personal rebirth after two bullets buried themselves in my skull." he began. "That now, at this very same location, I mark the beginning of the rebirth of the Mojave. For too long has this rich region and its crowning jewel, New Vegas, been eyed by the powers that be the way a glutton eyes a rich meal, as something to be consumed and devoured. But the people of the Mojave have proved themselves strong, and have resisted all efforts made to subjugate them."

"Today marks the beginning of a new era, the era, of the Mojave!" Seth exclaimed to cheers. "We will spread like fire across the land, rebuilding the burnt out carcass of the world into the image of Vegas! The image of PERFECTION! I have chosen you, the people of the Mojave, to be the first. The first to receive my gift of prosperity. We will not seek to emulate the cultures of the Old World, we shall surpass them. We will rise from the radioactive ash, like a Phoenix, to become the greatest nation to exist in the history of ANY world, New or Old! And the first step to achieving this dream is to destroy all pretenders to that title! So go and fight for your leader! Fight for that dream, FIGHT FOR THAT PROSPERITY!"

The crowd went nuts. Reasons for their rapture varied, from pride at being part of something bigger then themselves, to hope for a prosperous tommorrow to just wanting to fight. Regardless of way, the speech had worked everyone into a fevered pitch. To top it all off, at the exact moment the speech ended, several soliders fired Missle Launchers into the air. But these were no ordinary missels, as they had been programmed to detonate in mid-air, causing The Courier's speech to literally end with a bang.

The fireworks served a second purpose, however. Their detonation was the signal for artillery nestled in the rocky hills above Nipton to open fire at the entrenched NCR below. With thundering BOOMS! and BANGS! the shells went flying, scattering blazing death onto the soldiers below.

"Son of a bitch... THEY HAVE ARTILLERY! RETREAT! RETREAT!" The Nipton force's commanding officer ordered. "ANYONE WITH A ROCKET LAUNCHER, RETURN FIRE AND TRY TO COVER OUR ESCAPE!" he added on, but no one dared to try and stand against the mortar shells. The buildings could shield their inhabitants from the elements, but not artillery fire.

Adding to the chaos was the cold snipping of Craig Boone and Rose's Raiders. They picked off any stragglers who managed to avoid the artillery shells. Boone in particular went out of his way to shoot the doctors and medic, making sure that anyone who went down, stayed down.

Over at Primm, Sergent McGee and the former Deputy Beagle observe the distant explosions from what was once a fire escape at the Bison Steve hotel. A radio sits on a small table without a chair. "Shit, some kind of attack must be going down at Nipton. I'd better radio the base." he spoke before fiddling with the radio.

"So uh, does that mean the enemy is gonna attack here?" Beagle asked nervously. Ever since the NCR had forcefully taken the town, he'd served as a liaison between the soldiers and the citizens, meaning he was caught between the two polarized groups, and that conflict of any kind meant he'd ultimately loose. Beagle himself didn't like the NCR, but was to much of a coward to stand up to them personally.

"Probably not." McGee responded. "The machine guns, barracades and landmines set up at the town entrance should deter them from attacking that way. But if they move through Nipton and take the Outpost. Then we'd be in trouble. Thankfully artillery, machine guns, and landmines are set up all throughout those hills to keep them back." Just then an explosion could be heard from the building converted into a barracks, where about half the town's unit was.

Before either of them could respond, armed citizens of Primm emerged from their home, shot up any NCR personnel they saw, then retreated into the Vicky and Vance Casino. The attack was so sudden and unexpected that none of the soldiers were able to respond. "I do not like where this is going..." Beagle commented nervously while touching his holstered gun, making sure it was still there.

Meanwhile, Sherif Meyers is meeting with The Courier himself in the middle of the Vegas formation. "The bomb went of successfully, so that means the townsfolk loyal to us should have barricaded themselves inside the Vicky and Vance by now." he reported. "They have no training whatsoever, but the weapons you gave us and the element of surprise should have given them the advantage. I myself got a map of the NCR's mine layouts and took out the guys watching the machine guns near the barricades. As long as you don't rush things your men should be able to clear the mines no problem."

"And what of those... unsympthetic to our point of view?" Seth asked.

"We managed to lock most of 'em into their houses while they were asleep last night. Anyone else should be in the Casino where our guys can keep and eye on 'em" Meyers responded.

"Excellent." Seth replied while equipping a pair of binoculars and peering through them. It would seem that my soldiers are entering the town now. Let's join them, shall we?"

In the town itself, the NCR was losing badly. A combination of Powder Gangers, Freeside Thugs and Protectrons both out-manned and outgunned the already damaged NCR unit. All available troops had been sent into the streets in a desperate attempt to reach some kind of stalemate. Their efforts were in vain, however, and all were eventually gunned down.

The Courier, clad in a red painted NCR elite rangers coat and wearing his usual authortive glasses, walked onto what had been a battle ground a few moments ago flanked by Meyers and Yes Man. He and some of the least skilled of his forces would set up a new HQ here while his man army attacked Mojave Outpost. As he walked through the messy streets The Courier would silence the moans of wounded troops with a 9mm pistol.

Suddenly the doors of the Bison Steve flew open, and Beagle ran out yelling "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I've got their leader!" Indeed, the ex-deputy had managed to take Sergent McGee hostage, and had his 10mm pistol pressed against his head while holding the officer in front of him in the classic human shield hold.

The Courier's men immediately raised their weapons as their leader held up his arm, preparing to snap his fingers, the gesture used to order someone's imediate death. "No, don't shot, it's me! It's your old buddy, Deputy Beagle! I wanna join you! I captured their officer, I'll help run the town, I'll leave and never come back, I'll do whatever you say, just don't kill me!" he begged.

Seth slowly lowered his hand and put it to his chin in thought. "Beagle, Beagle, where have I heard that name..." Comprehension lit up his face. "Oh yes, Beagle! I remember you!" The Courier quickly raised his pistol and emptied the magazine in the coward's direction, continuing to fire even after it was quite clear that both men were dead, only stopping when he ran out of bullets. "I never did like you."

Meanwhile near the Mojave Outpost, a team of NCR personal are aiming a howitzer at the hills where The Courier's batteries were firing from. Abruptly, one of them stopped as his ears pricked up. "You guys here that?" They quickly located the source of the sound: The approaching flight of bombers, painted with the Boomer's symbol and the double bar diamond symbol of New Vegas painted on the sides. "GET DOWN!" another trooper yelled as the planes dropped their explosive payloads on the scattered NCR fortifications.

Sandbags and makshift machine gun nests were ripped to hundreds of pieces, scattered across the landscape. Great plumes of fire shot into the sky as soliders were blown limb from limb. The run down gas station and hollowed out buildings were erased off the map.

At the Outpost itself, two Rangers stand on a roof. "Well, there go all our fortifications." Ghost commented in her typical deadpan way.

"They didn't hit us though. Dosen't make sense though, they obviously could have." Ranger Jackson replied. Just then a piercing mechanical howl filled the air. "What in sam hill is that!"

"Head's up." Ghost advised while slinging her Cowboy Repeater of her back. Out of the smoke came the recovered Stuka, screaming into a dive bomb, machine guns blazing away at the NCR. Jackson ducked for cover, but Ghost just keep lining up a shot a the bomber just closer, its guns tearing apart the scattering infantry. Just as the plane was about to pull up, Ghost whispered "Gotcha," and pulled the trigger once, sending a bullet screaming towards the plane. It pierced the glass cockpit, and went directly into the pilot's skull, killing him instantly. The Stuka spiraled out of control, smashing into the outpost and exploding in a massive fireball. Ghost was thrown from the roof, losing her hat and glasses in the fall.

Ghost coughed up some blood as a shadow loomed over here. Looking up, she gazed upon the face of The Courier. "That was quite the stunt you pulled back there." he commented in an odd voice dripping with disintrest. "Ranger... Ghost, unless I'm not mistaken? I could use people like you. You seem like a smart girl, and I know from our first meeting you don't enjoy watching 'things going to hell', and as an agent of my empire, you'll affect a lot of change. Plus, you won't, you know... die." He spoke while holding out an open hand. "Plus we have a great dental package."

"Bite me." Ghost spat out.

"Fair enough." Seth replied, and shot her once between the eyes.

An NCR solider dissolves into a pile of goo as Orion Moreno pulled the trigger on his Plasma Rifle like he had so many times before. "WE SURRENDER! PLEASE, JUST STOP KILLING US!" yelled a weaponless trooper.

"Surrender? The Enclave dosen't know the meaning of the word!" Orion yelled back as he killed him. The veteran scanned the area for another target, only to find there was no one left standing. "Well, I guess that means we won!" he exclaimed, eliciting cheers from the other soldiers, while the grizzled vet simply spat "damm NCR had it coming too." under his breath.

Later that day, The Courier stood before a line of NCR surrenderies and Primm citizens that Sheriff Meyers had singled out. Behind him stood a line of Securitrons. The captives themselves stood before a deep canyon. Its name escaped Seth, but it east of Mojave outpost and was filled with Geckos and radioactive barrels.

The Courier, without a word, raised a single 9mm handgun, and began firing. The Securitrons added in their 9mm machineguns, and within moments the bodies of the prisoners fell into the gorge. Seth simply walked up to the edge, looked down, kicked a rock in, and walked back. After thinking for a moment about what words to mark this monsterous act with, he settled on the following:

"Well, that was fun! Let's go get Deathclaw Omelettes!"

* * *

A/N: Yes, at long last, it is back. Don't get to excited though. I might do one more chapter, but after that I'm going to hold off on updating this until I can play all four of the DLC packs. Considering that only one is currently released... it could be awhile.

But if anyone has any ideas about how the invasion of the NCR would go, tell me! It might get made into a chapter! I haven't actually played the first two Fallout games, and don't have any idea what the inner NCR looks like.

Rate and review!


	7. Chapter 7

Yes, I know I said I wouldn't do any DLC stuff until I could play all of them, and that I intended to buy them all at once, but... but... I've got so many ideas! I've read up on them and watched a few playthroughs, so I'm hoping I'm not too widely inaccurate. Just consider any mistakes to be artistic liberties, k? Plus, I've got tons of dialouge for the Courier that's just, well... you'll see.

On with the show!

Chapter 7: Welcome to the Sierra Madre.

It's supper time in the Mojave Wasteland, and the Courier is sitting down to break bread with the White Glove Society. The scene begins right after the punchline of a joke funny enough to solicit laughter from the elitists.

Mortimer begins to speak as a waiter comes in carrying a covered platter. "Tell me, old chum, what has become of that new raider band pestering our caravan routes? I've recently heard you have brought their leader to the negotiation table."

The waiter sets down the platter. "Yes, he agreed to join us for dinner!" Seth exclaimed as the waiter unveiled the dish beneath, revealing it to be the severed head of the raider leader just mentioned.

"I thought tonight's steak was a bit gammy." Mortimer replied nonchalantly.

"He got roughed up a bit during interrigation, can't be helped. Gave me the name "Ulysses" before he stopped squirming." Seth explained in between sips of wine. "I was worried he'd overcook before he reached the kitchen."

"And what do we know about this "Ulysses" fellow?" Mortimer asked.

"He's dead." The Courier replied casually. "He just dosen't know it."

The rest of the meal was consumed with considerable merriment, and at some time close to 10:30 P.M., Seth departed for the Lucky 38.

After arriving home, The Courier was preparing for to hit the sack, when his intercom crackled to life. "Hey Seth," came the perky voice of Veronica. "You may want to turn on your Pip-Boy radio. Black Mountin has been reporting a strange broadcast all day."

Grudgingly, Seth activated the radio, and tuned it in to the frequency Veronica listed. He was genuinly surprised by what he heard.

"So come, come to the Grand Opening of the Sierra Madre Luxury Casino Resort. You might not ever leave!" the broadcast finished, before looping back.

The Courier squealed with childish delight. "A grand opening party! Oh, I simply must attend! Veronica!" he spoke into the intercom. "Ready me an escort team, a tuxedo, and bag me some strange meat! We depart tommorrow!" For the rest of the night, he tried to sleep like a kid before christmas morning.

* * *

The next day, The Courier, Arcade Gannon, Veronica, and a few thugish bodyguards are approching the abandoned BOS bunker to wence the signal had been traced. Everyone but Seth was dressed in their normal attire. The Vegas Kingpin himself was wearing a salvaged, stiched together tuxedo, a top hat, and is walking with the kind of cane favored by the White Gloves.

"Look, I know you're excited to go to a party, but don't you think this is a litte suspicous?" Veronica asked. "The Brotherhood abandoned this bunker some time ago."

"Like I told you: you can't stay behind if you want, but if you do I'm not sharing any of my cake!" The Courier replied.

"Oh, no problem then. Cake is definitly worth risking your life for." Arcade replied snidely.

"We're here!" Seth exclaimed while prying open the door and stepping inside. "Who's ready to party?"

That was when the gas knocked everyone out.

A few hours later, Veronica, Arcade, and the goons wake up and notice Seth is missing. "Well, I figured the cake was a lie." Arcade stated.

Meanwhile, in the Sierra Madre courtyard, the Courier wakes up, only to be given a bunch of orders and some vague threats about failure and Ghost People from a hologram of an old man. A Holorifle was dumped in his lap as the communication ended.

"Let's see: I've got one scrapped together weapon, no armor, no backup, a collar around my neck that could detonate at any time and is linked to three complete strangers who are probably nutjobs, and crazy freaks in gas masks are looking to disembowl me." Seth concludes, then shruges. "Can't be worse then that trip to New Reno."

* * *

A/N: Well, considering what I mentioned in the begining, tell me what you think! And I apologise about the shortness of the chapter, I just want to see how it works out. If you don't like it, tell me, and I'll return to my original plan and wait until I've played the DLCs before updating again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A talk with God

The Courier checked his Pip-Boy, and decided to search out Collar 8 first. Slowly stalking down the street, Seth keeps both eyes wide open and his Holorifle at the ready, when he suddenly spots something shiny on the ground.

Throwing stealth to the wind, he rushes over to investigate the strange sparkling. What he finds is a casino chip, emblazed with the symbol of the Sierra Madre.

"Come to papa, you little shiny basterds." The Courier mutters while gathering up the chips. Just as he finishes grapping the last chip, the sound of deep breathing subtly slithers into his ear. He spins around just as the base of a spear comes colliding with his face. A split second too slow, and that would have hit him on the base of the neck, knocking his face into the building wall in front of him, and probably rendering him unconscious, leaving him at the "tender mercy" of his attacker.

The attacker in question was a hunched over, man-shapped thing in a fully body suit with a gas mask. It raises the spear to strike again, but The Courier strike first, sending a concentrated blast of hard light into the creatures gut, hurling it back, slamming it into a wall. Seth fires once more to be sure, then approaches it. "Goodby ugly." he sneers quietly while retriving its spear.

As he turned to walk away, however, he felt something grab onto his leg. The creature was still alive! Acting fast, The Courier slams the spear into the Ghost Person's head, piercing the suit and splitting the head like a ripe melon, scattering glowing green blood all over. "Crap, Hologram Man was talking about THESE natives." Seth commented as he continued on his way to the Police Station.

The door to the Police Station slowly creaks open, and Seth slowly scans the area. Instead of Ghost People, however, all he could see is one sniveling, sobbing super mutant trapped in a cage. That, and several radios, waiting to blow his head off.

Working quickly, Seth manages to shut down the radios, working his way towards the jail cell. Finding it looked, and getting no reply from the fetal position mutant, The Courier decided to search for a key. He first checks the armory. "Let's see... body armor, helmat, ammo, pistols, but no key." he states while tossing aside the items in search of the key. Disappointed, he heads out, only to trip across the discarded armor. An excited grin spreads across his face.

Several minutes later, The Courier steps out, wearing the Sierra Madre armor and brandishing the Police Pistol. "FREEZE HIPPY!" he exclaims while sending a bullet screaming into the wall. He chuckles, then resumes his search for the key.

Heading down the stairs, The Courier suddenly hears a ruthless, cold voice speak over a radio as he enters the basement. "Knew you would come, below the cage." The apperantly male speaker begins. "Down to where **I **am."

"I dislike you already, Collar 8." Seth comments. "Not a good start."

"Maybe you saw the letters I scrachted on the Villa walls." he commented. "Follow the sound of my voice. A little farther. That's it."

The Courier trotted along with a slightly annoyed look on his face. "I'm the King of New goddamm Vegas, and this punk has the audacity to speak to me like a child?" The Courier thinks to himself. "He is either very brave, or very stupid."

"The one in the cage, Dog?"

"That's who I'm here for!" The Courier responded retorically.

"I had to lock him up." The voice stated. "He keeps... disobeying me."

"Better not pull that with me, 'cause that shit won't fly." Seth responded. Continuing down, The Courier eventually opens a door to a room with a radio on a table.

"That's me, there on the table." The voice speaks again.

"Wow, you're tiny." Seth responds.

"The disk. My voice." he continues, causing Seth to smack himself on the forehead in humiliation, giggling at his own insane mistake.

"Can't take any chances though. You may be some victim who stumbled down here. If so, can't let you let Dog out. No, not yet."

"Yes, yes yet." The Courier says back defiently while stridding in and disabling the radio. He then examines the disk.

"But if you are who I think you are, you came to fetch Dog, use him to drag others here. Now I'll use YOU, and that Pip-Boy you're wearing."

"This guy is gonna be a problem." Seth remarked while pocketing the disk.

"You're smart, clever."

"Damn straight."

"The key to Dog's cage is simple. Take my voice to the cage above. Let me speak to the Beast inside." The voice commanded. "Then you and I, we can talk."

"And I can shoot you." Seth replied while leaving the basement. He makes his way back in front of the cell, looks down on the groveling mutant, and plays the tape.

"Dog, back in the cage!"

Suddenly, everything about the mutant changes as he rises to his feet. He begins to speak, in the voice from the basement. "Well, what have we here? You weren't who I was expecting. I'm disapointed." A flicker of worry began to grow in the Courier. He rapidly deduced that this was a Second Generation Nightkin suffering from nerual decay due to prolonged Stealth Boy usage. This could make him harder to manipulate, or easier. It all dependes on how Seth plays it.

"Still... even if you aren't my intended guest, you take direction. Good. You can't have been an idiot to figure out how to release me from my cage..." he spoke slowly, before changing to a slightly more condencending tone. "...or perhaps you are, with that leash on your arm and the one around your neck... with our collars and manacles, we might as well be kin."

"Let's cut to the chase. You are clearly a Second Gen. Super Mutant Nightkin undergoing advanced neural decay, manifest in the form of split personality syndrome. I've seen it before." Seth spoke rapidly. "I conclude that the sniveling sack of shit I saw on the way in is Dog, which makes you...?"

"Oh, a clever one. Interesting. You may refer to me as God." He introduced. "And that is the simple explination, the one humans use. I've been trapped in the cage for some time now, as Dog cuts and bleeds, trying to silence me with pain. He even carved his own name into his chest to help remember who he is! It only makes me angry. I've been trapped in the cage for some time now, and then you come and release me. For what purpose?"

"I'm here for someone with a collar. Where's yours?"

"It's close. Closer then I'd like. Dog's been into things. He needs to think before he eats, chew before he swallows. He's... eager this way." God explains.

"So he ate it?" The Courier states incredulously.

God nods. "Yes, the collar is now apart of me. I can feel the electronic heartbeat, clicking a burning down below. Like before." His tone becomes noticably angrier. "It was cold and heavy before I went into the cage. Now that you're here, it's pulling a kicking again, tugging like a leash. Burning a whole in my guts. Perhaps crying for its owner."

"Now, now, let's not start thinking like that. I'm in as deep in this mess as you are." Seth stated while gesturing to his collar. "If one of us dies, then we all do. I'm sure someone as intelligent as yourself would not have locked themselves in without a way out. Just walk out of the cell, and I'm sure we can all escape together."

"The key to this cell is the Old Man, the one who brought us here. The key is hidden on me so Dog wouldn't know. I simply need the Old Man to show up, so he and I can talk." God explains. "I can't have Dog in control when the Old Man arrives, otherwise he'd just blindly obey, as always."

"Interesting. So Dog will blindly obey anything the old geezer commands?" Seth asked, realizing that in moments he will have outwitted his foe.

"Dog... obeys, yes." God replied, begining to feel nervous. "Do you have a means of contacting him?"

Seth raises his right arm. "Well, how conveinent that I just so happen to have his voice, right here on my handy dandy Pip-Boy."

"You... Don't play it! If you do I will find a way out of the cage and end you, murder you!" God yells once he realizes he's been out-gambited. "I'll crush your arms and legs until..."

Seth spins his left index finger through the air in an elaborate display before hovering it over the button. "Have fun in the cage, Goddy boy! Bye bye!"

"No no no NO! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THIS!" he shrieks just as Seth presses down on the PLAY button, causing the commanding words of the Old Man to fill the air, causing an immidiate change in the Super Mutant.

"Master? Dog not hear you come in... too hunfry, now... at cage door? Master, Dog is listening now you are close and he can hear you over hunger."

Seth smiles a cruel smile upon hearing the refined, intelligent tone be replaced by desperate, animalistic gabber, knowing he has succesfully outsmarted the mutant's other side.

"Listen up, Dog. The Master demands your obedience!" Seth states in his most commanding voice.

"I hear you Master. Dog will be good and do whatever you say." Dog replies.

"Good. Hidden on you somewhere is a key. Find it, unlock the door, and come to me." Seth commands.

"Dog... Dog dosen't have a... hnh. Here it is. Dog... Dog didn't know it was there. How did it get there?" The mutant mumbles with confusion upon finding the key.

"Just give me the key!" Seth orders, and the Super Mutant dutifully obeys. He unlocks the cage and lets Dog out.

"Yes Master... Master sound different..."

"It does not matter how I sound! I am The Master, and you will obey me!" Seth replies harshly. "Unless you want to go back in the cage?"

"No, no Dog will be good this time, Dog promise!" he replies, scared silly.

"Excellent. Be a good little boy, and I might even reward you." Seth declares in a calmer voice. "Now let's go!"

On his way out, Seth stops by the contraband room and fiddles with the lock. "Damn, no lockpicks." he mutters.

"Is door making Master angery. DOG CRUSH STUPID DOOR!" The Super Mutant roars before smashing one giant fist into the wooden door before ripping it clean off its hinges.

Eyes wide, The Courier steps through and promptly gathers everything inside, including a powerful assault weapon. When he steps back out, Dog is happily munching on the shattered remains of the door, oblivious to the splinters piercing his lips.

The Courier simply roared with laughter at the absurd sight, causing Dog to gain a mystified expression.

"Master happy. Did Dog do good?" He asked, overjoyed at the thought of having pleased his Master.

"Yes Dog, you did very good." Seth replied, taking a new liking to his hulking servant. "Now let's get the fuck out of here."

* * *

A/N: Well, not a whole lot to say about this chapter. Dean Domino is coming up next!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The first Domino falls

The Courier slowly paces up the stairs, eyes open for the traps that had plagued him every step of the way. Music wafts through the air, barely audiable over Dog's heavy footsteps. The glowing green blood of Ghost People dripped from his lips, a stark reminder of his ability to mangle the freakish abominations as he forced them into his gut, a trait The Courier found endlessly amusing.

As he stepped over the last step, Seth noticed a what was probably a Ghoul sitting in a chair, directly in front of a hole in the wall, allowing him to watch the skyline. To the right was a table with a (non-deadly) radio sitting on it, and to the right of THAT was a second chair.

Seth turned around to face Dog. "Go back and wait at the fountin. Obey me Dog, or I'll send you back in the cage!" he ordered.

Dog became frightened. "Dog understands, Master. Dog will be good!" he replies before rushing off to the fountin, desperate to obey his new Master. Once the mutant was out of sight, Seth began to creep forward.

"Have a seat!" The person (now confirmed to be a Ghoul) exclaims. "You came all this way, the least I can do is let you rest your feet."

Seth slowly lowers his Police Pistol and sits down. Once he is firmly planted in the chair, Dean begins speaking.

"The Sierra Madre. Hmm... beauty, isn't she. She the one wo invited you here?" he begins is a classy, refined tone. "Or maybe you didn't catch her voice on the radio. Woke up, confused, like some of the others. Least you're still breathing."

"You could say it was a little of both." Seth replies while shifting slightly, his chair was uncomfortable! "I must say, it is a pleasure to finally speak to someone with a modicrum of civility and common sense."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you." Dean replies. "By the way, don't get up or make any sudden motions, no matter how uncomfortable that chair gets... the cushion's just for show." The singer's voice is now icy cold.

The Courier's mouth hangs open for a moment, then he speaks. "Landmine? No, that would kill you as well. Spring loaded blade? No, chairs not big enough to hold a knife long enough to penetrate deep enough to hit something vital. Which can only mean..."

"Shaped charge." Dean cuts him off. "Get up without my permission, I'll blast your ass so far through your head, it'll turn the moon cherry pie red."

"Clever, polite, even seems you've got a dash of poetry in your heart, I like you." The Courier responds rapidly, already calculating a dozen ways to dispose of this guy. "I'll save my questions for the end. Please, continue."

"And that's what I've missed- a rapt audience." He exclaimed happily. "Just becuase I'm in entertainment dosen't mean I'm a moron. I heard my necktie beeping, I know what that means. I'm part of this somehow. I want out of this contract. And if you put me in it, I'm not going to be too happy. So whatever's going on here, if you're a part of all this? You're taking orders from me."

The Courier nodded slowly. Seeing as he wouldn't be able to simply dominate him like he did with Dog, he'll just have to manipulate him using his ego. "Well, that's fine by me, Bossman. You call the shots."

Besides, if he became a problem, Seth could just have Dog eat him.

"Good, good! Then we're in business. I may be a betting man, but I like it when the odds are in our favor." Dean replied, his voice becoming cheery yet again. "If you're here with who I think, then I'd rather have you on my side then his. An ace in the hole. You want to live, I want what's in the Madre."

"Well then, shall we depart Boss?" Seth asks.

"Yes, I believe we shall." Dean responds, and the two get up and walk away.

The Courier is now thinking at lightspeed. This Dean Domino is gonna be trouble, but Seth has to admit, he likes his style. Still, it would be best to have a contingency plan to kill kim, just in case. But until he can come up with one, it would be best to continue to play the role of the simpering lackey. He can subtly manipulate his actions, put ideas into his head that Dean will think are his own. And should he prove to be an annoyance, or a liability? Seth will just wait until the collars come off.

Then he'll kill him.

* * *

A/N: Christine is up next! Sorry about the shortness.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Medical Malpractice.

With only one collar left, Seth and Dean set off towards the Medical Clinic. Dean proved himself to be a rather fast shot, forcing Seth to recalculate a number of his back up plans he formed for the singer's demise.

The duo had just finished off another Ghost Person outside the Clinic. Dean had lodged several bullets into his chest, after which The Courier approached and decapitated it with a knife spear. "Messy work, but someone's got to do it." Dean comments as he steps over the headless body into the clinic.

Grabbing medical supplies as they go, the two eventually reach the second floor. Seth's Pip-Boy is leading him to one of the Auto-Doc rooms, but suddenly the collars start beeping. The two scurry down the hall before their heads can be blown off.

"Hmm... This seems to be a bit of a sticky-whicit." Dean comments. Seth's Pip-Boy radio then crackles to life. The Old Man is speaking.

"Those speakers are all shielded. You'll have to disable the power to get by them. The generators should be located in the basement." He stated, then cut the signal. As Seth was processing this data, he felt Dean tap his shoulder.

"Uh, Seth. It seems we have company." He stated, directing Seth's attention to a glowing blue security guard advancing towards them.

"I got this." Seth states, drawing his Police Pistol. Gripping with both hands, he aims down the sights and fires three time. The Security Hologram goes from baby blue to blood red, and suddenly begins firing lasers at the two.

Seth fires again, emptying his pistol, only succeding in making the hologram madder. "Run!" he exclaims, and the two take off, fleeing down the stairs and escaping its range.

"We'd best not make that mistake again." Dean comments sourly.

Seth, on the other hand, was delighted. "Did you see that thing? It took a whole clip of bullets, and absolutely nothing happened!" He then notices a burn wound on his shoulder where the hard light beams struck him. "And they can attack! Fantastic! I have got to get some of those!" Seth continued to gush, completly neglecting to treat his wounds.

Dean seemed slightly annoyed with his companion's gushing adoration of the thing that tried to kill them. "Yes, most impressive. Hopefully they'll shut down along with the speakers once we disable the basement generators."

"Right, right. Let's get moving!" Seth exclaimed, strolling away with a spring in his step and a singe on his shoulder.

Dean muttered, "This guy is nuts." as he grudgingly followed him.

Once in the basement, Seth quickly located the terminal regulating the power. "Let's see. From here, I can turn off both the speakers and the holograms." Seth stated

"Then do it." Domino replied snarkily. In Seth's mind, the chance of him needing to use one of those "kill Dean Domino" back up plans went from 25% to 46%.

Returning to the second floor, the two approach an Auto-Doc that seems to have a strange knocking coming from inside. Dean suddenly seems to get nervous. "Say, chap, why don't you greet the newest member of our little fellowship by yourself. They may need help getting back to the fountin, and well, three's a crowd."

"Yeah... sure thing boss." Seth replied slowly. "You just head back to the fountin. I'll take care of everything." At that, Dean took off. This got The Courier thinking. Does Dean have some kind of relationship with the third team member? Could he get them to kill each other? "Only one way to find out." he states before opening the Auto-Doc.

As the door slides open, a ragged, bald woman wearing a blood stained doctor's outfit stumbled out. She winces in pain from just blinking. "Geez, did someone carve a roadmap on your face?"

The woman (who, according to Seth's Pip-Boy, was named Christine) gained a cross expression and opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Shocked, she traces a scar along her chin, her eyes going wide with horror as reality dons on her.

Seth puts it all together. "Someone cut out your vocal cords, didn't they?"

Christine becomes agitated, looking at the Auto-Doc in horror before staring down The Courier, and angry look on her face. She draws a finger across her neck with slow, angry precision.

"Woah woah woah woah woah. Woah. Woah. Don't try to pin this on me, sister. I'm in the same boat as you are, see?" Seth states while pointing to his collar.

Christine traces her fingers across her own metal necktie, seemingly noticing it for the first time. Abruptly, she begins fiddling with the lock.

"Unless you want your head to go off, don't pick at that." Seth states bluntly.

Her eyes widen as she gazes at The Courier's leash. "Yeah, it's a bomb collar. Made in a bomb factory. Because it's a BOMB!"

Christine's expression hardens with resolve. "Listen, I have hade enough of this shit. Let's get out of here." Seth states, though Christine is reluctant, drawing a line in the air between her and The Courier. "I pulled you out of that Auto-Doc, I can shove you back in." he stated in response. Fear danced across Christine's face, and she reluctantly followed him out and back to the fountin.

* * *

A/N: The teams all here!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Go Go Gala Event!

The hologram projecting the Old Man's image shut down, having provided the instructions for triggering the Gala event. Dog, Dean Domino and Christine stood in a line as The Courier paced back and forth in front of them.

"Alright men (and mute, bald, woman), I know none of you want to be in this situation, but we need to work together if we're gonna get out of this!" Seth spoke in his speech voice. "Big Blue, you're going to Salida del Sol. Double D, you're post is Puesta del Sol, and Baldo, you're at the Switching Station."

"So which one of us Merry Men is headed out first?" Dean asked.

"Dog." The Courier states. "Let's go boy." He commanded while begining to walk away.

Dog whimpered a little. "Dog is hungry, but Dog hears you." He spoke while dutifully following Seth.

"I watched you devour one of the Ghost People." Seth spoke suddenly.

"Dog gets so hungry! Food tastes like copper, but it's still food!" Dog replied.

"I wasn't judging you!" Seth replied hastily. "I just wanted you to show me where you hit them."

"Oh, OK. Dog can do that." Dog stated just as two Ghost People lept from the shadows. One of them threw a spear at The Courier as the other approached Dog with a Bear Trap Fist. The spear was deflected off Seth's security armor as he fired four shots from his Police Pistol as Dog simply picked up his attacker and bit its head off like a gingerbread man.

"OK Dog!" Seth shouted, causing the Super Mutant to drop his current meal. "Show me how it's done!" He adds while pointing to the downed Ghost Person. "Before he gets up."

Dog lumbers over and begins ripping into the Ghost Person as Seth takes careful note of how and where he savagely rips and tears. When he finishes his meal, Dog looks up at the Courier. "Did Dog do good, Master?"

The Courier smiles. "Yes, you did very good." One that note, the two continued on their way.

They eventually arrive at the Switching Substation, and were greeted by a posse of Ghost People, who were quickly exterminated, with Seth utilizing his new knowledge to bust them with extreme prejudice. As he shot the last one in a critical joint near the shoulder, creating an impressive blood spatter ans severing the arm, Seth flipped up the Security Helmet's face guard to examine the situation. When he did, Seth noticed a patch of glowing green Ghost Person blood on his chest. Curious, he runs his finger over the damp patch, sticking it onto his finger. He stops for a second, then throws caution to the wind and swallows it. His eyes cross as his lips form in a pucker.

"Too sour." Seth squels in a quiet voice.

"Did you speak to Dog, Master?" Dog asked.

"What? No no no!" Seth replies quickly as he rushes over to the switches. "Now let's take a look here..." The Courier begins studying both the switches themselves and the circuit diagram adjacent to them. Dog began to appear unwell.

"Master, Dog is so hungry! Dog needs food!" The mutant began to whine. "This place... it's too much like cage."

"Dog, hush! Master is thinking." Seth quickly admonished. "All you need to do is wait here then pull these switches. I'm sure even you can do that."

"Master, Dog is so hungry. And Master... Master looks like food." Dog spoke in a gutteral tone.

That got the Courier's attention. A look of concern spread across his face as he quickly calculated a way out. Flipping the face guard on his helmet, Seth spun around while raising his Pip-Boy. "Don't even THINK about it, Dog! If you do, I'll send you back in the cage!" Dog became frightened and timid at the threat. The Courier's tone then softened. "Look, I know this has been tough and it has been a long day, so tell you what. You wait here, and I'll go get you some juciy Ghost People meat for you to snack on."

"Does Master really mean it?" Dog asked in hopeful tone.

"Every word." Seth replies in a sincere tone. "Now you just wait right these while I go get you some food."

"Thank you Master. Dog is sorry for thinking of you as food." Dog spoke as Seth slowly walked out.

"Not a problem. Now don't. move. an inch." Seth replied while edging closer and closer to a nearby terminal. Activating it, he quickly punched in a series of commands that will shut the gate and lock Dog in.

The iron bars swing shut, locking Dog into yet another cage. The Super Mutant is just begining to understand what is happening as Seth walks away, saying "See you in the Sierra Madre!" as he walks away.

"Master? Master? Where did Master go? Dog will be good this time, Dog promises! MASTER!"

Back at the fountin, Dean was unsuccesfully hitting on Christine (who seemed vaguely suspicous of the ghoul singer) when The Courier returned. "Alright Dean, you're up next."

"Strike up the band, Domino's back in town!" The Ghoul exclaimed, somewhat relieved to move away from Christine. The two proceded to their destination, making small talk and killing Ghost People as they went. When they finally arrived at their destination, Dean began to look nervous. "So all I do is stand here and hold these wires together?" he asked skeptically.

"Yep, that's it." Seth responded.

"Well, you see, there's just one problem with that." Dean began to explain. "Once the Gala Event starts, music will start playing in the streets. And, as I've discovered the hard way, Ghost People are rather unpleasable critics. They'll take to the streets and kill everyone they can find. If I'm going to just hang around here I'm going to need some... protection."

"Yeah that seems resonable." Seth stated. "I think I saw the control terminals for some holograms on our way here. If I can re-activate them to protect you, would that be enough?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess that'll do nicely." Dean replied.

"Let's not dily daly then!" Seth exclaimed, and they set off to find the terminals. This was accomplished without much trouble, and soon two hazy blue sentries stood at the ready, prepared to repulse any and all trouble makers. Dean was still somewhat unsure, though.

"Well, what if the power fails? This all seems a tad too risky to stake my life on." Dean complained suddenly, trying to wiggle out of his assigned role.

Annoyance flashed through The Courier's mind, but he was careful to conceal it. He needed Dean on his side. "If you don't trust me, trust the collars. If you die, I die. I'm gonna get you through this Dean." he stated re-assuringly.

"Well, when you put it like... I suppose I'll be safe enough." Dean replied, confidence in his voice. "Now run along and get the mute to her position. Old Domino's gonna go solo for a while."

With only one companion left to position, The Courier returned to the fountin and retrived Christine, who was silent, as usual. Her ability to delay the collar's detonation proved infinitly valuable, giving Seth vital seconds to disable or escape several speakers. The fuses proved troublesome to locate, but power was eventually restored, and the two entered the station. After activating the ventilation systems and destroying a turret, the duo found a door.

Suddenly, Christine became uneasy. She made pulling motions with her hands as emotions of distress danced across her scarred face.

"Christine, I need you to go down the elavator and redirect the power for the Gala Event." Seth stated, motioning towards the door as he checked a table for valuables.

More distress appered on her face as Christine refused to enter the elavator. The Courier looked her over in confusion, then realized "It reminds you of being trapped in the Auto-Doc, dosen't it?"

Christine nodded, as all the painful memories of her sinister surgery washed over her. It seemed like she was going to cry.

"Oh, there there. Don't cry now." Seth cooed gently while holding her hand in a comforting manner. "I won't force you to go into the basement if you don't want to. Let's take the elavator up instead and look for another solution, K?"

Christine looked up and smiled, re-assured by The Courier's soothing words. Together, they stepped towards the elavator. Seth made a gesture with his hands. "Ladies first." he spoke charmingly, and a trusting, touched Christine stepped in the elavator...

...immediately after which The Courier slammed the down button, sending the mute Brotherhood of Steel-affiliated woman plunging towards a claustraphobic nightmare. "Have fun!" Seth exclaimed with manic glee as he damaged the elavator's operating systems. Someone as talented as Christine could probably get it working again, but he'd have enough time to get away.

"Now all that's left is little old me." Seth stated as he rushed off to his post. It was a bit of a long walk, and without backup the Ghost People proved a trifle more challenging, but Seth eventually reached the bell tower. The Old Man instructed him to begin the Gala Event. "Is everyone ready?" Seth asked into the collar radios.

"Master, I'm so... so hungry. Where did Master go? I'M SO HUNGRY!"

"I'm ready to get this show on the road!"

As expected, no talking came over Christines channel, but a series of angry, pounding knocks could be heard.

"Alright then!" Seth exclaimed. "We are live in THREE... TWO... ONE... aaaaaaaand ZERO!" He slamed down on the final button as he exclaimed zero, trigging the grand Gala Event!

Fireworks burst to life across the sky and music played in the streets as the festivites began. Unfortunatly, like all great parties, this one had some uninvited guests. Chiefly, the murderous hoards of gas mask clad Ghost People swarming the streets, looking for someone to kill.

Seeing a crowd of them head for the bell towe, Seth took aim with his Automatic Rifle and sprayed them, managing to dismember some of the oncoming Ghost People and making what came next much easier. Once he ran out of bullets, he charged down the stairs, pistol in hand, and widly fired at any Ghost Person who got too close. He had no delusions of being able to kill all of them, and didn't take the time aim for the weak spots Dog had showed him, instead firing rapidly, simply aiming to put them down long enough to get away. Not many got withing melee distance, and The Courier's Security Armor deflected and thrown spears.

Continuing the deadly marathon, Seth eventually managed to storm the gates of the Madre. After jaunting through the ornate doors, Seth jams them firmly closed, then takes in his surroundings. He is awed.

"The Sierra Madre..." he exclaims, near breathless at the sight of the casino and from the awful lot of running he just did.

Then he passed out.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems a little weak. The story will diverge from the game next chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Begin Again

Once The Courier woke back up, the first thing he heard was The Old Man "welcoming" him to the Sierra Madre and ordering him to dispose of his former party members, who were scattered about the casino. After snooping around and scavenging a bit, Seth set off to find Dog while mentally debating what to do with him.

"If I could get him to recognize me as his master, I can bring him back to the Mojave with me. He is extremly powerful, and could prove an asset." He thought. "Then again, he destructive eating tendencies make him a liability. Better to just kill him."

Shortly after restoring the casino's power, Seth's urgency increased after he learned that Dog was opening the gas valves in an attempt to destroy himself and the casino. Avoiding the security holograms (which The Courier was still enamored with) Seth managed to disable the gas valves while stealthly avoiding the savage. Once the last valve was closed, it was time to put the beast down.

"Hello Dog." The Courier greeted in a neutral tone from behind the Super Mutant. The conflicted F.E.V. reject turned around to face him.

"You! You are... master. You used... kind words with Dog." Dog began to speak, trying to supress God.

"Don't trust him Dog, he betrayed you, used you, let you go hungry! You're a tool to him!" God raged, momentarily regaining control.

"GO AWAY! DOG IS SICK OF VOICE! DOG WILL DESTROY WHOLE CASINO TO MAKE YOU GO AWAY!" Dog yelled back.

"Dog, Dog, can you hear me?" Seth spoke in the same soothing tone he used with Christine. "Would you like the voice to go away, Dog?"

"Don't listen to him, Dog, he's trying to trick you!" God commanded. "I'm not letting you use us anymore!" he added while preparing to lunge at The Courier, but then Dog took over.

"Make the voices stop, master. Dog will do anything, just make the voices stop." He pleaded in a pathetic tone.

The Courier discreetly put his hand over his holstered Police Pistol. If this went bad and the mutant attacked, he just may be able to shoot it in the eyes before it closed the gap and ripped off his head. "The voice comes from inside you, Dog, inside your stomach. If you want it to go away, all you need to do is... pull it out."

Dog placed his hands over his belly. "Dog can feel it, master. It feels cold and tastes like copper."

Suddenly, his hands shot from his stomach to around his head. "No no NO! Do not do it Dog! Do not obey him! I'll... I'll!"

That was the last time God had control over his body.

With incredible force, the nightkin's hands latched onto the stomach flesh, and began to rip and tear, claw and gash, burrowing into the thick, mutated skin, desperatly reaching for the cold metal collar before control was lost once again. Once enough outer skin had been ripped away, Dog, losing blood rapidly as entrails and the indigestible paraphanailia he had consumed came pouring out, thrust his gore caked hands deep into his ripped apart body, grasping for the metal object he had been tricked into beliving was the voice, shrieking in horrible agony the entire time.

He ripped out parts of internal organs in his mad search, until finally, out came the collar, along with a large chunk of guts and 41% of his blood. The Courier stepped back, half to avoid the collar blast, half out of disbelief that he actually did it.

As expected, all of this jostling and clawing set off the collar, which exploded in Dog's hands, reducing them to a fine red mist, spraying shrapnel into his face, a sharp, triangular bit burying itself in his left eye. The mutant fell to the floor in a pile of his own guts, bleeding from his gaping chest wound, blown open wrist stumps, and mangled eye. The Courier stepped forward to check the broken, ripped apart remains for anything useful. As he was about to bend down and search, the troubled mutant spoke his last words.

"Master... the voice... is..." Were his final words before life escaped Dog/God forever, ending his tortuous schizophrenia in blood and gore.

Seth retrived a maintenance pass from his barely recognizable corpse before leaving him to rot, but not before uttering one last sarcastic compliment. "Good Dog."

Next up, Dean Domino. Manuvering past a couple of speakers, Seth entered the dusty, unused theater, and located a key hidden inside a music sheet on a stand in front of the stage. As he contemplated what to do next, a jovial voice exclaimed "Finally, a friendly face! Hey, partner! Up here!"

The Courier smiled. "Dean, good to see you! What are you doing up there?" he asked.

Dean quickly explained how he had woken up backstage, then encountered holograms when he stepped up to the mike. The two worked out a plan of action involving running a hologram performance to reset security. Just as the hazy blue rent-a-cops arrived, Seth dashed out. After disabling some speakers, he arrived in Dean's room, grabbed what he needed, and left. He poped into Vera's room and did the same.

Then came the hard part. Deciding to forgo stealth completly, Seth simply dashed past the holograms, earning himself several burn wounds in the process. It paid off, however, when he reached the projector room and played the tape, reseting security just as Dean predicted.

The two reunited right after. As Dean explained how to enter the Vault as thanks to The Courier, he slowly revealed what a twisted, psychotic mastermind he actually was. Needless to say, The Courier's respect for him skyrocketed. He also explained how he had placed Christine in the Auto-Doc, surgically altering her vocal cords to make her speak with Vera's voice. Once he was finished, it was The Courier's turn to talk.

"I must say Dean, I am impressed." Seth began. "Putting together this entire hiest, stringing Vera along, a true piece of Machiavellian art. I would be honored if we could continue to cooperate in future endevors."

"What kind if business are we talking about here?" Dean asked. "I'm not stooping to knocking over convience stores, you know."

"No no no, I wouldn't waste a man of your talents on such triveal things. You see Dean, back in the Mojave Wasteland, I'm a rather powerful person. However, due to the high stress, desk based paper pushing nature of my position, I need talented partners like yourself to... make my will known." He explained, carefully choosing his words to avoid triggering Dean's jelousy. He then held out his hand. "So what do you say... partner?"

Dean thought about for a second, then shakes Seth's hand. "I'm in. What's our next step?"

"For now, all I need you to do is get back to the fountin. I'll settle up with the Old Man, then meet you there with the riches of the Vault. After that, it's Viva New Vegas!" The Courier explained.

"Sounds good to me! I just need to rest for a minute, catch my breath." Dean replied. "You go on ahead."

"Will do." Seth said with a nod. "Good luck... partner."

Dean simply gave him a nod of his head as Seth scurried off to find the last companion, Christine.

After evading a number of Ghost People, holograms, and traps, Seth entered Vera's suite, gun drawn, in search of the bald Brotherhood member. She was too quick, however, and managed to get her laser pistol trained on The Courier as soon as he opened the door. "You!" she exclaimed, then coughed a little, as her voice had not yet recovered to shouting streangth yet.

"Yes, hello, it's me. Nice new voice by the way very... feminine." Seth replied, speaking rapidly. "I don't suppose I could convince you to put down the laser pistol?"

"After you tricked me into that elavator? I don't think so." Christine replied while narrowing her eyes.

"Hold on hold on hold on!" Seth replied quickly. "You kill me and you'll die to. Collars, remember?"

That was actually a complete lie. The Old Man had disabled the mutual kill function on the collars when he ordered Seth to kill of the others. Still, no need to tell Christine that.

The bald woman slightly relaxed her grip on the trigger, but kept the laser pointed towards The Courier. "That's it, nice and easy. After all, if you die here with me, you won't be able to... what did you come here to accomplish again?"

That was Christine's que to tell the long story of her tracking Father Elijah, being trapped in the Big Empty and saved by one who "Wore the flag of the old world on his back," and finally arriving at the Sierra Madre.

"And here we are." Seth stated at the conclusion of her tale. "And now all you have to do to go get him is walk up to that speaker, and say the words Begin Again, and Let Go."

"Begin again..." She repeated. "And let go?"

"Perfect." Seth muttered to himself. He then whipped up his pistol and emptied the entire clip, shooting her once in each arm, once in each kneecap, and twice in the stomach. Christine had started to lose focus during her story, and was too slow on the draw to shoot back. "Well, now that I've got that recorded, I've got to be off then. Sorry I can't just kill you right here, but I can't risk blowback from your collar going off. Have fun bleeding out!"

After playing back the passwords from his Pip-Boy, Seth stepped into the elavator and began his descent.

Back in Vera's room, Christine struggled to reach her stimpacks with her crippled arms, when the shadow of a man with dreadlocks fell across her. "You..."

Down in the basement, The Courier avoided the traps and security until finally, after all the bloodshed, betrayal and brutality, he entered the Vault. After reading Sinclair's last, heartfelt letter to Vera, Seth shut off the terminal, and spoke face to monitor to monitor to face with the man responsible for all this: Father Elijah.

"You. You're in the Vault... finally. After all this time. The Seirra Madre... Mine." He stated in an awed tone. He then quickly ordered The Courier not to touch anything.

"Well, looks like you've won the million cap prize, Old Man." Seth began in a slow, laid back tone. "Or should I say... Father Elijah of the Brotherhood of Steel. You know, Veronica spoke at great lengths about what a genius you are..."

"Wait, Veronica?" Elijah seemed suprised. "She's alive?"

"Oh yes, alive and well. You could say that she... works for me, in a sense." He replied casually. "She also told me how you let the NCR take HELIOS One."

"She would have survived..." Elijah mused. "As for losing HELIOS, that was the only option, aside from retreat. NCR, swarming like ants all over old world relics..." he spoke, ever syllable seething disgust.

"Sounds like someone's got a bone to pick with the Republic." Seth stated.

"I don't intend to let those children seize anything else. The others in the Brotherhood can't stop them, so I will! And the old world will be my weapons!" he declared.

"Slow down there. Are you saying you want to attack the NCR? All of the NCR?" Seth asked quizzicly.

"Attack? No, not attack them." he replied. "I want to exterminate them! I'll send the cloud and the holograms, bring ruin in my hands until I stand atop HELIOS One again!"

At that, Seth let out a nervous sigh. "Yeah, about that... You see, the NCR isn't actually in the Mojave anymore. I kinda... kicked them out."

"What! Do you expect me to believe that some... wastelander was able to drive away the entire NCR single handidly?" Elijah declared in an angry voice.

"Well, I did have some help..." Seth replied. "Check my Pip-Boy if you don't believe me."

Elijah became silent at this. At the other end of the line, he was reading over data from the Pip-Boy. Sure enough, The Courier was speaking the truth.

"If you wipe out the Mojave now, you'd be doing the NCR a favor. You'd be destroying their greatest enemy since the Legion. But if we work together..." Seth suggested. "How does that old saying go? The enemy of my enemy is my friend..?"

Elijah remained silent from a moment, thinking it over. "The NCR has many soldiers, many citizens." he began. "Perhaps I should not have been so quick to place a collar on a prospective ally."

The Courier clapped his hands together in joy at this. "So does this mean we're in business?"

"Yes." Elijah replied, sealing the fate of the Republic. "I'll come down... and show you what the Sierra Madre has in store..."

4 weeks later...

It was a clear, sunny morning in Jacobstown, and all of the Super Mutant inhabitants were working away at their usual jobs. The mountin mutant community had recived several offers to join The Courier's growing empire, but Marcus had turned him down every time. He had created this town to be a sancutary for his people, and he wasn't about to drag them into another war.

As such thoughts ran through the mayor's mind, he noticed something new rolling in on the morning breeze. A blood red, lethal looking cloud. As he squinted to get a better look at it, the cloud suddenly picked up speed and washed over Jacobstown, catching the mutants unaware.

The cloud poured down the throats of the F.E.V. children, slowly choking them to death on the vile mixture of chemicals. Several mutants made a dash for the exit, but once they breached the cloud, they found a line a hazy blue soldiers with their hands raised to their heads, spitting out searing beams of burning light.

Not a single mutant among them survived.

Away from the now empty town, a small band of observers stand upwind, observing the cloud settle into the cradle of death, as a team of enginers in modified radiation suits operate a mortar device that had just emptied itself of canisters of the lethal gas.

The Courier, Father Elijah, and Veronica watch through binoculars as the holograms disapear and the Eyebots carrying their projectors return to their masters. "Well, it definitly works on super mutants." The Courier states bluntly.

"The New California Republic shall be the next ones to choke to death on the fumes of the Old World." Elijah stated ominously.

"Quite right." Seth replies while pocketing his binoculars. "Anyway, Team 1 will escort you to HELIOS, while I shall travel back to Vegas with Team 2. Everything has been prepared exactly as you specified."

"Good, good. Come along now Veronica. HELIOS One awaits!" Elijah exclaims victoriously as he began to trot down the hill to the waiting escort team as Veronica silently followed. "Oh, and Seth!" he called back. "I look forward to continuing our partnership." he stated before departing, his apprentice in tow.

"As do I, Father Elijah." Seth replied, even though the maniacal genius could no longer hear him. "As do I."

* * *

A/N: And so ends the Dead Money saga. The next few chapters are going to show a combination of the integration of the Sierra Madre's technology and The Couirer's continued battles with the NCR before we move onto Honest Hearts. Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

OK, so some people have asked whu Boone is helping The Courier and not the NCR. Well, if you take the Wild Card ending, which I obviously did, and convince him to abandon his conscience at Bitter Springs after the Legion attack (mentioned in chapter 1) the ending slide mentions he became a contract killer after Hoover Dam, willing to do any job for the right amount of caps. And The Courier always has the right amount of caps.

Chapter 13:

The scene is a desolate stretch of desert on a dark, dusty night. A cluster of men are standing around several boxes, with about five or six brahmin in the distance. After waiting around for a few more minutes, the distinctive sound of heli-copter blades can be heard in the distance, getting closer and closer, until a Vertibird appears in the sky and lands in front of the men.

This is the begining of of a trade off that has been happening once a month every month for several months. The men with the crates are Powder Gangers, and the Vertibird is flown by Daisy Whitman, all of them in service of The Courier.

The Powder Gangers were among the first of The Courier's forces to go into battle against the NCR, mostly because he didn't want them getting bored causing trouble. Infiltrating the NCR by disgusing themselves as refuges, many Powder Gangers had set up self-sustaining raider bands to harass NCR supply lines. Recently, however, they have adopted a new strategy.

Just as some of Samuel Cook's Powder Gangers had gone North with the Great Khans (Cook himself opted to stay behind and lead a dedicated unit of NCR haters against the republic) several Great Khans had decided to stay in the Mojave and ply the drug manufacturing trade their tribe was famous for. They, along with some Followers scientests and a few freelance chemists, converted the NCRCF (renamed Fort Eddie) into a full-scale durg lab, pumping out both medicine and narcotics (the sale of which are tightly regulated and heavily taxed, as Seth did not want to rule over a nation of junkies). Ironically, only as small congigent of Powder Gangers remain at their former prison, as most had left to fight NCR.

Most of the drugs produced at Fort Eddie were being smuggled into the Republic to the west, flown in on Daisy's Vertibird, who then flies out with the money left over after the Gangers take their cut and pay "business expenses." The drugs are being specifically peddled to the working class, in an effort to stiffle the NCR's agriculture and manufacturing with addiction while bringing in profit. Their main sources of competition were New Reno, split between the NCR affiliated Bishops, the Van Graffs (hostile to The Courier due to his slaughter of their Mojave branch) and the socially progressive Wrights, and the Den, once the stronghold of the slavers, it was seized by the NCR Rangers as part of the Republic's push North. Although slavery had been abolished, the town remained a hive of corruption, gambling, drugs and prostitutes.

Seth's battle plan would attack both of them.

Out of the Vertibird stepped a ghoul wearing a tuxedo, sunglasses on his eyes and a cigeratte on his lips. "Hey, hold on a minute, who the fuck is this guy?" one of the rude, crude dudes asked.

"Name's Domino. Dean Domino." he introduces himself. "I'd shake your hand but you look a tad... greasy." He then reached into his suit and pulled out a folder full of papers. "Orders from the top."

The lead Powder Ganger grabbed the folder and flipped through it as his eyes widened. "Yeah, okay, I got you." he then turned to the man next to him. "Get the radios on. It's time to bring the gang together.

Two weeks later, on the outskirts of NCR controlled Junktown, a pair of soldiers are walking along the outer walls on patrol. Local garrisons had been put on alert all over the Republic, but the citizen's of Junktown weren't that concerned, they were pretty unimportant.

"So then I say to him..." one of the guards jokes with the other. "That's not my wife, that's a Deathclaw!"

The other just shakes his head with a little smile on his face. "I can see how the mistake was made." he replied back, also jokingly, but became all business when he saw a trio of individual's kneeling around a crate by the wall. The soldier quickly blew his whistle, signaling for help and alerting the Powder Gangers to their discovery.

One of them took off running right away, while another stayed down near the box and the third opened fire with a 10mm pistol. He shoots four bullets, two of which bury into the belly of the soldier who had told the joke. He fell to the ground as the other two criminals rushed away. His buddy quickly dropped to his knee and prepared a stimpack. "Don't worry, man, helps on it's way. You're gonna pull through." He reassured his downed comrade while injecting the healing formula.

Then the crate of dynamite detonated, killing the two soldiers and twenty nine townspeople.

All over the NCR, similar attacks were occuring at populated areas. In Klamath, a frag grenade was tossed through a bar window. In Redding, several grenade launchers opened fire on the mining company HQ and sleeping quarters. In Vault City, a caravan full of medical supplies was caught in a dynamite trap. In the Hub, thousands of caps of products were destroyed when a pack brahmin loaded with C4 detonated at the caravan staging area. And in New Reno, a rocket launcher defaced the grand archway proudly proclaiming New Reno to be the biggest little city in the world.

As New Reno's garrison rushes to the city entrance, a second attack is underway further inside the city. Across the street from the Bishop's casino, a man leans out of a window and sprays machine gun fire into the throng of people going about their business. Among those hit are the doormen for the casino, and in response more of Bishop's men swarmed the street's, searching for the shooter, who had activated a Stealth Boy and slipped away.

Inside the casino, the sound of gunfire and explosions had tossed the patrons into a panic, and the rushing goons didn't help matters. One person was totally calm however: The Ghoul singer who had been performing behind the chain link fenced stage.

"Everybody's a critic." Dean Domino muttered sarcastically while slipping backstage. One of Bishop's thugs greeted him soon after. The thug told him to stay backstage while he joined the other goons outside. Although he locked the door behind him, Dean quickly defied him and walked out anyway, naturally posessing the proper key.

Slinking and sliding down the casino's hallways, Dean quickly reached his destination: the casino vault. When he had taken this gig a week and a half ago to case out the joint, his Powder Ganger accomplices set off a "false alarm," revealing that in the event of a full scale attack on the casino, only one guard was left at the vault, while the other's took to the streets.

Hiding around a corner, Dean slowly readied a laser pistol. Energy guns were not usually his weapon of choice, but Dean had spent a good deal of time on the shooting range to prepare for this mission. The weapon itself had been specially modified by Veronica to improve just about everything. Slipping in an overcharged energy cell, Dean Domino lepta from the corner and sent three searing beams of red light towards the guard. This proved to be just the right amount of power, as the Bishop henchman slumped to the ground, dead, without turning to ash.

Approaching the vault door itself, Dean scanned it over. Thick steel door with three seperate locks. On top of that, there's a bomb rigged to it that will go off if anything is done wrong. First, the key. During the singer's introduction with Mr. Bishop himself, a little sleigh of hand had allowed him to pocket the key, make a molding, and put it back before anyone noticed. He and his men had brought the equipment to make several keys for just such an occasion, and as expected, the replica worked flawlessly. Next, the number pad lock. Shortly after arriving, Dean had gotten into a rousing night of drinking with Bishop's chief of security, who had drunkenly muttered the combination as he lay passed out in a pool of his own vomit and urine. Finally, the combination. This number had been recovered after a rather... intimate encounter with one of Bishop's children, who had a... thing for ghouls. Dean shuddered at the memory as he dialed in the code mumbled by the resting necrophiliac.

"That's definitly something I don't need a repeat off." Domino muttered. "Thank goodness he had no endurance..."

Finally, the door swung open. Jackpot. Dean stepped into the vault, surrounded on all side by the wealth of the largest family in New Reno. He readied one back, filled it with loot, then promptly turned his laser pistol on the rest of the cash, disintigrating it into worthless ash. He kept firing until the entire fortune was dust, then non-chalontly dropped the laser pistol and kicked it into a corner of the room. Dean took his loot, tossed it out the first window he could find (which he deliberatly left open) then returned to his room just as the goons returned from a fruitless search and discovered the robbery.

He then sat down, lit up a smoke, and waited for Mr. Bishop to hit the roof.

Elsewhere in the city, the Powder Ganger who had fired upon the casino returned to a small warehouse occupied by his compatriots. "Did you get it done?" one of them asked.

"Done to perfection. Gunned down two doormen and a ton of civilians, then vanished without a trace." the shooter replied in a cocky voice. The next lines were spoken timidly, however. "So, uh, this erases all my previous screw ups, right?"

"Right." the other Ganger replied. He then made motion with his head. Suddenly, a Powder Ganger who had been behind the door the shooter had come through opened up with a plasma pistol, quickly killing the first man. "You messed up one too many times, Nick." He then turned to the others. "Get the boss on the phone, tell the boss things went just as planned."

Back at the Lucky 38, Seth has just gotten off the phone with Samuel Cook, who reported that Dean and the Powder Gangers had completed their objectives. The wave of bombings had were a smoke screen, intended to disguise The Courier's objective of starting a gang war in New Reno. As a bonus, Yes Man predicted that this would cause the NCR to expect an invasion and bunker down their forces in preparation, giving Seth time to institute the Hologram defense grid he intended to use to protect the Mojave. One of the many technologies Father Elijah brought to the team was the hazy blue sentinels. The plan was to place projectors in Seth's settlements and in strategic positions around the wastes. They couldn't be running 24/7, but in the event of an NCR invasion of a major civil disturbance they could be flipped on, providing an unmoving, undying force of energy beings to hold the line. And although more conventional soldiers and police would still be needed to provide day to day policing, this would still free up hundreds of troops, all of which could be thrown at the NCR. At the same time, the use of energy weapons in the heist, combined with the broken, tortured body of a Van Graff lieutenent stuffed in a dumpster outside the Bishop's casino should trigger a full scale gang war, destabilizing New Reno and driving more tourists to New Vegas.

As The Courier was musing on his sucecess, Yes Man rolled up. "Hey there boss! I've just recived word that our boys in blue are all settled in at the Den. Should I give the word to start making trouble?" he asked in his typically pleasent tone.

"Right away, Yes Man." Seth replied.

"OK then! One last order of business..." Yes Man exclaimed. "So you know those assasins you sent after that Ulysses character? The guy who organized that band of raiders?" Seth nodded. "Well, they're back! The only problem is, they didn't exactly come back in one piece..."

"Just leave the report on my desk, Yes Man. I'll skim over it later." Seth replied dismissively.

"OK boss! You clearly have better things to do then worry about lowely hitman! I'll just see myself out..." The robot replied, and wheeled away after leaving the papers on the desk.

Seth looked at them for a second with a confliced look on his face, then shrugged. "Just another small fry who wants to play with the big dogs." He dissmissed, and got back to planning.

* * *

A/N: Alright, now we are really getting into the NCR v.s. New Vegas conflict! I finally decided to show this because I can now proudly say I have played the original Fallout 1 and 2, both of which are excellent, excellent games.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Den of Doom.

In the seedy scum hole known as The Den, an off duty NCR soldier drunkenly stumbles out of a bar. With the wave of bombings going on, the top brass had ordered additional troops into urban areas to protect against further bombings or the invasion such bombings were ment to soften them up for. All that ment for Private Douglass was that shifts tended to be shorter and he had more downtime.

After stumbling away from the watering hole, a man managed to catch his attention. The man described himself as a pimp, and offered him the services of one of the areas many prostitutes. The private didn't half a wife waiting for him, and even if he did he was too drunk to care.

After reaching an area away from prying eyes, the Private meet not with a beautiful prostitute, but with a tire iron to the face. He blacked out instantly.

An undetermined amount of time later, the same Private awoke in a cage. Checking his surroundings, the captured soldier noticed an explosive collar around his neck and a tall ridge of mountins to the east. Several other cages were also occupided by NCR troops, while Powder Gangers ambled about a number of tents. "Hey, the last one has woken up." A Ganger stated.

"Alright, listen up you pieces of shit! We're gonna go for a little hike. Stray from the path, and your little ties blows your head into a fine red paste." he stated. "Now move out!"

* * *

About a week later, Yes Man reports yet again to the Courier King. "Hey boss? Another work team has arrived at Jacobstown!" He stated cherrily.

"Excellent! We've had no escape attempts, I presume?" Seth asked.

"Nope. Clearing the Cloud is so dangerous, most prisoners die before the next wave from the Den comes in!" Yes Man declares happily. "By the time they figure it out, they're too weak to escape!"

"Magnificant." Seth responded, content that his scheme was advancing.

Shortly after the extermination of Jacobstown, a narrow path had been discovered through the leading to NCR territory. The trail was to narrow to move anything more then a mediun size party of people, as the supplies needed for a larger group woudn't fit through. Using this pathway, The Courier's forces had been kidnapping NCR personel from the Den, the only remaining competition for New Vegas. The Courier had plans to diversify the Mojave's economy, but gambling and tourisim were still the primary sources of income for the new Nation State.

"Unfortunatly, it seems like the NCR is putting your brilliant plan on hold, boss." Yes Man spoke up. "Father Elijah finished converting Black Mountin into a listening post, and it seems the NCR is launching a full scale raid on the Den, to show the citizen's they can fight back against terrorisim."

"If I go through with Stratagem 8, what is the probability of a massive NCR human wave counter-attack on the Mojave Outpost?" Seth asked.

Yes Man calculated for a second. "83%" he replied.

"Perfect!" Seth stated cheerily. "Go through with Stratagem 8."

"Yes Sir!" the robot chirped before rolling away.

A few days later, a raid on the Den was launched. Every house was to be searched (leading to some compromising situations), every person interrogated, everything neccasary to find their lost soldiers was to be done.

Among the soldiers involved in the police action was an experinced veteran, Lieutenant Darrian. Although somewhat unsettled by the violation of personal liberties that was occuring, he could understand the desperation to find those lost soldiers.

The lieutenant burst into another house, taking care not to damage the door on his way in. Just because he understood the neccisity of this action, dosen't mean he was going to be a fascist dick about it.

The building seemed empty. "Anyone home?" he called out, advancing slowly. A squeaking noise rose from the floor beneath him, and the experinced soldier noticed a loose floorboard. After confirming no one else was in the house, and wresting with his morality for a minute, Darrian bent down to pry the board away, realizing there could be drugs, guns, or even a bomb underneath. His eyes widened upon confirming it was the last one.

And it was armed.

"Do it." Commands the leader of The Den Powder Ganger cell, which was now gathered on a hill overlooking that vile town. The command was directed at a Ganger with a detonater, who pushed the button.

Plumes of fire rose from the town, as the tons of explosives the Powder Gangers had been mining the town with ever since they'd arrived. The taking of slaves was a means to an end, the end being to attract the NCR to the Den, and antagonize them into moving a large number of troops into the town, which would then be blown sky high by the bombs, along with Vegas's only remaining competition.

Finally, a week after that, the final piece of the plan could fall into place.

Just as Yes Man predicted, the NCR response was a large Human Wave attack on the Mojave Outpost. With General Olivar out of the way, more aggresive officers were at the helm, and while Seth realized that killing the rather predictable general could haunt him at some point, aggresive is just what he wanted to see in the NCR at the moment.

Plus, it was really fun watching him get thrown off the Dam.

The attack came in the afternoon, as the sun was setting. This way, command rationalized, the sun would be behind the attacking soldiers, and the lowered tempature would help their endurance. After setting up a forward camp farther down the valley, the time came for the attack. As the sun recceded, a wave of soldiers came charging over the horizion. Their opponent? Four glowing girls in dresses.

Any confusion the troops may have had regarding the friend/foe status of the holograms was squelched when they turned red and began spraying laser beams into the oncoming formation, cutting down scores of raw recruits and seasoned veterans alike. Efforts to gun down the holograms were in vain, and only impaired the firing troopers ability to avoid the searing energy beams.

Several troopers actually got behind the holograms by using the bodies of their comrades as shields (with one unfortunate soldier being killed after a laser beam disintigrated his meat shield) only to find another four holograms standing guard at the outpost gate. Suffice to say, they were quickly killed.

The NCR was quickly routed, the soldiers tripping over the corpses of their comrades as they retreated back west, panicking before the unkillable laser speawing holograms, sealing an utterly crushing defeat for the NCR.

Back at the Mojave Outpost, The Courier and Father Elijah were watching the battle through binoculars. "Can you seen ow the power of the Old World?" Elijah asked. "An entire battalion of NCR troops destroyed by a mere eight holograms!"

"Impressive indeed." Seth replied. "With these holograms, we'll be able to block off every route into the Mojave, allowing us to raid and bombard with impunity." He then lowered the binoculars. "Have you gotten ARCHIMEDES working yet?"

"Yes, actually. Veronica has been of great help in my research." Elijah replied. "We are now able to fire into NCR core territory twice a day."

"Brilliant. Once the Boomers shift their bombing raid from the Legion to the NCR, we can begin wearing them down for the eventual invasion." Seth explained. "While we wait, though, I'll start gobbling up Legion territory to increase our resources and numbers."

With the NCR counter-invasion foiled, it was obvious that the Mojave Empire wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *

A/N: Honest Hearts is coming up next!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Welcome to Zion

The Courier King of New Vegas sits in his office, listening to a proposal by Arcade Gannon for a public hospital.

"Well, your proposal sounds fine and dandy on paper, Arcade, but I'm afraid we just don't have room in the budget for it." He replied after examining a sheet of paper with details. He then picks up a different scrap of paper. "Tourisim seems to be down, for some reason."

"Well, that's a huge surprise, sir." Arcade replied in his typical snarky tone.

"Is that snark I'm detecting Arcade?" Seth replied in an sarcastic voice.

"No, I'm just as suprised as you are that a massive terror campaign against your best customers has reduced income." Arcade shot back.

Seth blinked at him. "But... I destroyed The Den and triggered a gang war in New Reno. Where else can people go to satisfy their perverse desires?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Well, I suppose that when people have their homes threatened, they just... rise to the occasion." Arcade replied sincerily.

Seth blinked a few more times. Finally, after a minute of thought. "... No shit?"

"No shit sir."

Seth exhaled slowly. "Well, this is a problem..."

Just then, Yes Man rolled in. "Hey boss, we've just received a request from a caravan company that wants to start business in the Mojave."

"...And that's a solution!" Seth perked back up. "Bring it over and let's have a look!"

Arcade slapped his hand to his face while muttering something rude.

A few days later, Seth himself arrived at the cave currently harboring several employes of Happy Trails Caravans. "Afternoon there folks! When do we set off?" he asked jovially.

"Now hold on a second, I recognize you!" Jed Masterson spoke up. "Aren't you that big shot Vegas boss who's hankering to employ us? Don't you have better things to do?"

"Yeah, well, let's just say I'm a "hands on" supreme autocrat." Seth replied. "Plus, this caravan goes all the way to New Canaan, and I've been needing to negotiate with the residents up there."

"Well... all right then." Jed replied. "We'll be setting out in a little bit, so make sure you ain't carrying too much."

"Right-O chief." Seth replied with a mock salute as Jed sauntered away, shaking his head. Seth then slid next to a drugged out looking man wearing a vault jumpsuit. "Whatcha doin' twitch?" he asks, causing the twitchy man to quickly stuff a unit of Psycho back into his pocket.

"What are you talkin' about asshole?" Ricky asked back in a panic. "I ain't usin no Psycho... but, uh, just talking hypno-theoretically here, what would it take to keep you quiet."

Seth's eyes lit up like a six-year old on Christmas Day (which has not been regularly celebrated since the Great War) at this response. "This is going to be fun!" he exclaims gleefully.

Shortly after, the expedition set off for adventure and profit, with The Courier cracking highly disturbing jokes about brutal methods of murder all the long way. Finally, they reached Zion Valley.

"Well, here we are! Zion Valley" Jed Masterson exclaimed, seconds before the screaming bullet from a White Leg rifle ripped into his ear and scattered his brains all across the ground.

"AMBUSH!" screamed one of the surviving merchants as everyone ducked for cover. Seth took shelter behind a thick trunked tree, hefted his Light Machine Gun, and returned fire. He ducked back behind the tree as a bullet narrowly missed his eye.

"Dang, I knew I should have done smaller gun, heavier armor!" Seth exclaimed, noting that (ironically) he was still dressed in his suit, tie, and sunglasses. He did add a fedora before leaving, though. It was then that The Courier noticed Ricky propped up against a large rock, blood oozing from his wounded shin. "Yo Ricky, you okay?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking OK?" he half yelled, half sobbed. He then reached into his pocket. "I'm gonna die as I lived: HIGH AS FUCKING HELL!" he screamed while pumping the Psycho into his veins.

"Hey Ricky, I just want you to know, you are not gonna die!" Seth yelled out, the continued barrage of fire pouring down on their position. "... in vain."

The drugs taking hold, Ricky started to feel confident. "Actually, I think I might make it." he stated while reaching for his discarded weapon, a 10mm submachine gun.

"Oh." Seth replied non-chlantly. "Then you will not have been mortaly wounded... in vain."

"Actually, I think I'm gonna make it!" he exclaims, the drugs now in full control. "COME ON YOU SONS OF BITCHES, TIME TO GET A FUCKLOAD OF DEADEYE RI...!"

Whatever completly empty boast that was sure to follow was cut off by literally hundreds of bullets ripping into the faux-badass, blowing away large and small chunks of meat, reducing the drug addict to a red paste on the canyon ground.

Seth didn't seem to notice, however. "YOU HEAR THAT!" he screamed over the cacaphony of death. "Ricky ain't dead, Ricks says BRING IT ASSWIPES!" before leaping out from behind his cover and unleashing a storm of his own high-dosage medication upon the hostile tribals.

Neither he nor his enemies, however, knew that they were being watched.

* * *

A/N: Well, this is really more of a funny, breather episode, but things will get serious next chapter. I also apologise if my brand of humor rubs you the wrong way. If it does, you should really read something else.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Bandages to Face.

After fifteen minutes of solid fighting, The Courier, a cocktail of combat drugs pulsing through his veins, stood victorious amongst a field of his dead enemies. His cubersome weapon, however, had both run out of ammo and working parts during the battle, so Seth calmly cast it into the river before staggering forward in jerking, awkward motions, injuries making it difficult to walk.

Taking a seat atop two dead White Legs, Seth readied a Doctor's Bag and began repairing his broken body, picking out bullets and steralizing wounds. After running out of medicine, the Dictator began retreaving bits of tribal healing means from the corpses, as well as bit of non-damaged armor, so as to craft something a little more protective. He also aquired some new weapons: .45 caliber pistol, fire bombs, and a tomahawk.

Continuing across a bridge, Seth spied a White Leg atop a ridge. Although he readied his pistol, Seth was beaten to the shot when another figure took out the raider and beckoned over the Courier. The man introduced himself as Follows Chalk, then escorted The Courier to meet the legendary Joshua Graham.

As the duo walked away, a different pair observed them from atop one of Zion's many cliffs. One wore the an outfit declaring loyalty to Caeser's Legion, but this costume was different, less uniform then others. The outfit was at one time a regular Recruit Legonairy uniform, but it had the skirt removed, and the man's legs were wrapped in bandages. The symbol of the Legion, the red bull, was also absent from this constume, with the universal symbol for radiation drawn over it. The leg bandages, combined with long sleeves, gloves, and a full head helmet, left not a single inch of skin exposed. "It would seem that the Courier's combat skills are not the victims of exageration. Salt-Upon-Wound will be hard pressed to fullfill his end of the bargin."

"Why don't we just kill this guy?" His companion asked while unholstering a .357 Magnum Revolver, with all mods installed, and aimed it at the Courier's back, who by now was almost just as dot. This man was clad in the leather outfit of a King gang member, though like his Legion(?) partner, it had a few modifications. The crown symbol that represented the Kings had been ripped out, and a different piece of leather with a crosshair on it had been stitched into its place. A strait-razor also seems to have been glued onto his left cuff. "I don't trust those hound dog White Legs to do this right."

"Our liege's instructions were very clear: The slaying of the Courier is a rite of passage for the White Legs and their chief. We may help them with the Burned Man, but Salt-Upon-wounds must break the Courier with his own hands." The Legion man replied. Although his next words were spoken in the same deadpan tone as the rest of his dialouge, but still conveyed an unmissable message of sadistic snark. "The tribal, however, is not under our liege's protection, and may complicate things. We must deal with him accordingly."

"This place is fantastic!" Seth exclaimed as Follows Chalk lead him down the watery canyon that ended in the Dead Horses' encampment. "Clear skys, fresh fruit, clean water... you've even got fish! Can't remember the last time I saw a fish..."

Beneath the wonder (which was genuine) The Courier was already scheming how he could take Zion Valley and all its radiation free natural resources for himself. He could escape to Vegas and roll up with an army of Securitrons... but they wouldn't fare well in all these cliffs and rivers and narrow canyons. Best bet is to get in good with the Tribals, help one group conquer the others.

"Wow, that be mighty high praise considering how civilized the places wou've seen must be." Follows Chalk replied.

"Civlization's magnificant and all, but it's good to change things up now and again, sample some rustic charm." Seth spoke back before stopping at the mouth of the cave. "So, I reckon this is it?"

Entering the cave and accepting the warnings of a particularly grim tribal, Seth finally came face to horribly burnt face with Joshua Graham himself.

"So, the Burned Man himself. A walking Legion boogeymen, in the flesh." Seth started. "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Seth, owner and Supreme Autocrat of the Nation of the Mojave, but you can just call me The Courier!"

"Well met, Courier, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Graham responded. "I pray for the safety of all good people who come to Zion, though we can't expect God to do all the work."

"Undoubtably." Seth responded simply, kicking off his lengthy discussion with the former Malpas Legate. During their exchange, The Courier learned of the destruction of New Cannaan, The Conflict of the Four Tribes, and Joshua's religious outlook on life. Graham himself learned of the downfall of the Legion, the formation of the New Mojave nation, and how Seth had hoped to incorperate Happy Trails and their trade lane to New Cannaan into his expanding empire. All of this was carefully edited, however, to paint Seth in a noble light. The aggresive power grab was repainted as a desperate fight for independence, and the plan to absorb Happy Trails by running their main trade route through his territory an attempt to avert hunger in the face of an inhumane blockade. The bombings, gassing, and orbital Kill Sat strikes were omitted entirely.

"I feel as though we are kindered souls, you and I." Graham responded to the tale, having nothing but the charamastic schemer's word on the matters. "Struggling to protect the place you call home. I would greatly appreciate your aid in our struggle."

"Who do we shot first?"

A little bit later, Seth and Follows-Chalk were edging along the cliff side overlooking the ravine with a crashed bus at the bottom. "So Chalk, you mentioned something about scouts earlier?"

"Oi. Though I'm not sure what kind of scout would travel in such a big, clunky metal... veh-ic-la? Is that how you say it?" Follows responded, stumbling over the word used exclusively by civilized folk.

"Close, but no ci... spear. Close but no spear." Seth replied. He was going to say "cigar" but realized mid-sentance that the tribal probably didn't know what a cigar was, so The Courier substituted something he knew he'd know. It was an ironic conicidence that a few seconds a flint spear buried itself into the rock directly to the left of The Courier's head.

Seconds later, the Legionary(?) dropped down to their level, to the right of Follows-Chalk and left of the spear and Courier. The attacker ducked down into a splits kick, shoving his right foot into The Courier's kneecap, causing the conquerer to stumble back put not plummet to his death. The man in red then sprang to his feet a drew a machete, and took a downward swing at Follows-Chalk's left arm, but at the last second Chalk managed to catch the blade in the curve of his war club.

The lightning legion barrage continued however, with the attacker flattened his palm and pushed together his fingers, then rammed those fingertips into Follows-Chalks stomach, causing the tribal to tip forward in pain and nausua. Capitalizing on the opening, the attacker removed his weapon from Follows-Chalk's, and slammed the flat end into the left side of his head, causing the scout to tip towards the ravine, stumbling on the edge, sliding to his doom.

Satisfied that his oppenets doom was assured, the Legion man bent his knees, then sprung into the air with a backflip. His arms became riged and he grabbed onto the spear staff, completly defying gravity through muscle mass. He then bent his arms and propeled himself further up over the cliff edge, twirling to safety and escaping the reach of his enemies.

Follows-Chalk had completly lost his equilibrium, and finally plummeted over the edge. Seconds after beginning his fall however, Follows-Chalk abruptly stopped as Seth grabbed him by the wrist. With a mighty heave, The Courier pulled his minion to safety. The remained on guard for a minute until they were sure the danger had passed, then resumed their descent, discussing what had just occured.

"Oi, thay would have been a mighty long fall. Thanks for catching me." Follows-Chalk spoke.

"Not a problem, friend." The Courier responded, projecting a false sense of platonic affection. "I'm still puzzled as to the identity of our attacker. The Legion dosen't have the strength to warrent sending Frummentari this far."

"Well, whoever it is, we know they can't beat us!" Follows-Chalk claimed in an unbeat tone. Both stopped their movements and speech when a sharp crack was hear at their feet.

"Well," The Courier stated in a neutral tone. "I've found the scouts."

Somewhere else within one of Zion Valley's many caves, a dreadlocked man cloaked by darkness stands amongst several crates that a few White Legs are picking through, examining the many high-powered, automatic and/or explosive weapons stored within.

"Chief be happy for new storm drums, but questions if Caeser has new task, Flagbearer." The White Leg asked.

"The conflict is now larger then Caeser. Larger then the bull or the bear. I can no longer offer you a place in the Legion. Instead, I can offer you the greatest place of all. A place in history." The man spoke. "Now go. Inform your chief of his role. Of all our roles." Concluded Ulysses, as five humans (including the two men from earlier) a Super Mutant and a Dog moved out of the shadows.

* * *

AN: Alright, I am so sorry this took so long to write. To make it up to you, I thought I'd drop the bombshell for you that in this story, Ulysses will have his own companions, to act as counterparts to Seth's companions. Some of them will be new characters, other will be minor characters from the game given various motives. Also, the White Legs will play a role beyond the Honest Hearts arc. Feel free to Wild Mass Guess in the reviews section. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Battle for Zion

Seth and Follows-Chalk continued their quest for supplies following the attack at the ravine, which had currently brought them to an old ranger station. As they poked about and made small talk inside, an effort was being made outside to seal their fate.

"There, that oughta keep 'em locked up till they're extra crispy." proclaimed the man in the Kings uniform from earlier as a White Leg jammed the door closed with a collection of logs and rocks.

Since his allegiance was revealed last chapter, now is as good a time for exposition as ever. This lovely piece of work goes by the name Costello. Growing up poor and orphaned in Freeside, he learned how to use a pistol, with a penchant for revolvers, at a young age out of neccasity. Killed his first man, one of Freeside's many muggers, at age 9. He's been a do-anything, survive-at-any-cost type since then, and joined the Kings for power in numbers. Despite being genunialy ruthless and brutal, he covers up deep lingering insecurities with bravado and "style." Also, in spite of the fact he is an extremely good shot and excellent fighter, Costello will break and run if things seem to be going even slightly bad.

After being booted from the Kings for killing an old lady for a bottle of pure water (which he admantly insists was self-defense) he wandered around the outer Vegas area, raiding and killing to survive. There's always a bigger fish, though, and he eventually ran afoul of the Fiends. Specifically, Cook-Cook.

After being badly beaten, Costello was on the verge of being... soiled, so to speak (would have been his first time, to) when Ulysses happened upon them. The dreadlocked courier forced the Fiends to retreat by blowing up Cook-Cook's flamethrower with a few well aimed pistol shots to the tank. Costello's pack instincts, which had compelled him to join the Kings, caused him to wonderglue his lips to Ulysses's ass. Despite his usually solitary attitude, Ulysses saw Costello's potential, and allowed him to tag along.

So now, Costello was to take his shot at menacing The Courier and killing Follows-Chalk. He knows he isn't supposed to kill the bigshot, but if he really is as indestructable as Ulysses says he is, a little fire should be no problem. Besides, this is way safer then charging in with the two White Legs and shooting the place up.

"Let's light this place up." He said once the other White Leg finished scattering a highly flammable liquid mixture of plant pigment, mantis juice and yaoi guai feces. If your wondering how that works, chalk it up to mutation. Costello removed the cigeratte he was smoking from his mouth and chucked it in the mix, the faint embers quickly becoming a roaring flame. "Now scram, you mugs!"

Inside, Follows-Chalk stopped and sniffed the air, eyes becoming wide in the process. "I smell smoke! There's a big fire burning!"

"We've got what we came for, let's get out of here!" Seth responded as the two bolted for the door. "It's stuck!"

"Let me try. I've had to slam my way out of Back When places a couple times!" Follows-Chalk spoke. Meanwhile, the fire had entered the building and was consuming the building at a rapid pace.

The Dead Horse scout slammed his shoulder into the door several times, but the wooden barrier would not fall. With the flames drawing nearer, Seth began searching his inventory for something that could help them. He smirked slightly when he realized he may have a solution.

Removing the small bottle from his pocket, Seth put his arm in front of Follows-Chalk, stopping his next ram. "I think I've found a solution! Swallow these, then charge the door as hard as you can!" he ordered, giving the tribal a handful of buffout.

Knowing he needed to trust Seth if either of them were to live, Follows-Chalk swallowed the pills. Then, feeling a surge of chemical energy rush through his veins, the tribal charged the door, and smashed it down through the power of drugs!

After escaping the burning building, the two stood in silence, watching the ranger station burn down to the ground. A few minutes after the flames died down, Seth threw his hands in the air, and at the top of his voice proclaimed "HOORAY FOR DRUGS!"

The next few days were spent performing the rest of Joshua and Daniel's (who The Courier had disliked as soon as he met him) tasks without incident or the further apperance of either Costello or his Legion partner (named Styx) so things went smoothly. After a little chat with the Burned Man, however, Seth knew things were about to get a lot more intense.

"Hey there Daniel, how's it going?" Seth asked in an evasive tone, the kind a child uses when its parents are on the verge of finding out they broke something valuable.

"Welcome back. Have you collected everything we require for the evacuation?" Daniel asked in his usual polite tone.

"Uh, yeah, about this whole evacuation thing..." Seth replied. "Me and Joshua have been talking, and we've come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is wipe the White Legs out in a vicious and brutal attack, and we were wondering if the Sorrows would help us out."

"No, No! Can't you see what you're doing? By leading the Sorrows to war, you'll destroy the last vestige of innocence, of mercy! Hasn't Joshua's story taught you anything? The endless cycle of violence you'll perpetuate will leave no winners, only the dead. And even if it tramples me into the dust, I will never accept it. And I will never condone it." Daniel pleaded.

"Oh, well excuse me for shattering your mythical little fantasy world Daniel, but I happen to live in reality! Delightful place, you should try it some time. And the reality of this situation is that unless we kill every last White Leg in this valley, all of your precious tribals are gonna get slaughtered." Seth shot back. He then leaned in and delivered the next lines with a chilling intensity. "Kill or be killed Daniel. For some to prosper, others must suffer; for some to live, others. must. die. That's how the world works. That's how it has always worked, and that's how it always will work. And no one, certainly not you, can change that."

"No, that's how WE made the world." Daniel responded before sighing. "Side with Joshua, if that is what you think. Lead the Sorrows to war, I can already tell I won't dissuade you. But if you truely care about the tribes, know this. If you let them choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."

And with that, he turned the other cheek and walked off.

Seth stood there for a minute, fumming, feeling angry for reasons he didn't fully understand. After another minute of angry, confused thought, clarity reached The Courier's mind; it didn't matter what Daniel had said. The time for words was over. It was time for battle, and The Courier could almost hear the war drums beating in his head, the still warm blood spraying across his flesh, the cold steel of the gun bucking in his hands...

He abruptly ran over to a cooking area and grabbed a pot and a pan and started banging them together in a frenzied manner. Once he had the attention of the entire tribe, Seth screamed out to all of them. "PACK YOUR BAGS AND READY YOUR WEAPONS, CAUSE TONIGHT, WE ARE GOING TO WAR!"

A little bit later, at the Dead Horse's camp, Seth pulled Follows-Chalk aside. Joshua had gone to the Sorrow's camp to prepare them, leaving Seth behind to ready the Dead Horses. The Sorrows would be going into their first battle, and needed a seasoned commander to get them ready, where as the Dead Horses, having fought and won many wars previously, would be much easier to ready.

"Listen, Follows, before all this stuff goes down, I wanted to make you an... offer." Seth began. "So I was thinking about how much you told me you wanted to see civilization. And, since you kept me from burning to death in that ranger station, I thought it would be the least I could do to fulfill your dream."

"Wait, are you saying that... I'm going to..."

"That's right buddy o' mine! Once we've killed every White Leg, you've got a free ride to the civilized lands." Seth exclaimed with a grin. "Since the caravan I came here with was wiped out, I'm in need of a traveling companion to accompony me back to New Vegas. You can take in the sights, the sounds, taste the food, eat the wine, and serve as an emmisary for the tribes. So what do you say?"

"Holy smokes, how could I say no?" Follows-Chalk replied. "I have always dreamed of seeing the civilized land!"

"I'm glad to see you're excited about this as I am, but we have one little roadblock I'll need you to help me overcome." Seth added on in a regretfull tone. "Daniel."

"Oh, you mean the other New Canaanite, right?" Follows-Chalk asked. "Why is he a problem?"

"You see, Follows-Chalk, Daniel dosen't agree with us, with Joshua." Seth began, begining to tug on the strings he had slowly tied to the scout during their adventures together. "Daniel fails to see the neccasity of fighting the White Legs, thinks we should "turn the other cheek", and get ourselves killed."

"But... but why?" Follows asked. "I've heard him preach a few times, never at length, but he seemed like an ok guy."

"Well, in a way, he is." Seth explained. "He means well, but his beliefs just aren't pragmatic enough to survive in the real world. But more then that, he dosen't want the tribes to see civilization. He'd keep you and the Sorrows locked up in Zion forever, keep you from seeing what a big, wide, amazing world it is out there! His stubborn inflexibility is going to cost him one day. The question is, how much are you gonna let his mistakes cost you and your tribe?"

Follows-Chalk was disturbed deeply by The Courier's words. Though he didn't hold Daniel on the same level he did Joshua Graham, the tribal still respected the man as a New Canaanite. After almost a full minute of internal struggle, the scout sighed. "What do we need to do?"

Seth smiled a little. "Come here." The two walked a short distance, then Seth bent down to reach into a thicket. When he returned to his feet, he was hefting an Anti-Material rifle. "The White Legs use this weapon frequently, and you mentioned using scoped weapons once during our missions. During the battle, when the others have gone off to war, you must enter the Sorrow's camp and kill Daniel with this. It will seem like a White Leg got him, and I'll say I sent you scouting as part of my battle plan."

Follows-Chalk took the weapon, but was still a tad unsure. "I'm not sure I can do this."

Seth put a hand on the scout's shoulder. "You wanted to experince Civilization, right?" The other man nodded. "Well, sometimes terrible things need to be done to keep civilizations working. And once you take care of Daniel, the road to civilization will be wide and clear." Seth finished while waving his other arm in a wide arc to enuncate his point.

With renewed confidence, Follows-Chalk nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll kill Daniel."

Seth patted him on the back. "Go get 'em deathclaw."

The rest of the preparations were finished quickly, and within the hour, the two tribes were decending upon the White Legs. The Courier and Joshua found a team of Sorrows pinned down by machine gun fire a ways into the Three Marys.

"Come on you tribals! Who wants to live forever?" Screamed The Courier as he braved the hail of bullets to toss a grenade up to the cliff the White Legs were firing from. The carnage of battle lit something inside the Sorrows. Wading through water strewn with blown apart chuncks of flesh raining down from above, they raged into battle, ripping apart all White Legs they encountered, sparing not even the women or children.

Atop one of the camp grounds many cliffs, a figure in a green Boomers jacket watches the carnage below. His ears perk up as a White Leg approachs. "Bomber, where is Flagbearer? Has he forsaken us?"

The man snorted. "I wouldn't blame him if he did, savage. This is twice now your tribe has failed." He speaks in a bitting tone. "Still, he sees some use in you, so he asked me to arrange a little distraction." The Boomer readied a detonater and pushed the button, setting off well placed blasting charges to block the direct route to the inner sanctum.

"The Flagbearer is ordering a retreat. Gather those you can and take them through the tunnels, he'll be waiting for you." He stated while walking away. "Also, anyone currently engaging our enemies are lost. Leave them to die."

Back in the Sorrow's camp, Daniel was packing his things. He had failed the Sorrows, failed himself. He didn't know how he would face the others, but Lord willing, he'd find a way. Little did he know the Lord had very different plans for him...

"Okay, you can do this." Follows-Chalk mutters to himself as he sets up on an elevated rock cliff. "This is what it takes for civilization." he re-assured himself as Daniel's head fell into the crosshairs.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Seth asked sarcastically as he came upon Joshua and the prisoners, including the chief himself, Salt-Upon-Wounds. "Starting the party without me?"

Joshua put bullets in the heads of the mooks, then began his long religous rant at Salt-Upon-Wounds, who suddenly turned to The Courier and begged for mercy. Seth just yawned. It was then that the war chief's eyes went wide beneath his helmet.

"You! You are one Legion Man speak of! You are Courier!" He began to babble in a frenzy.

"My reputation precedes me, it seems." Seth responded in a mocking tone.

"Flagbearer, stripes and stars on back. He want you dead. If me spill beans, you let me live?" Salt-Upon-Wounds bartered desperatly. This actually entrigued Seth, though. There had been reports of a man named Ulysses stirring up trouble in Vegas, the only know description being of a man wearing "the flag of the old world on his back."

"Do go on. Tell me about The Flagbearer." Seth asked, kneeling down to the war chiefs level.

"Flagbearer tell us of Caeser, help us raze New Canaan, get storm drums! But then he go away long time. When he finally came back, 14 moons ago, he want us to kill you!"

"Did he now?"

"Yes, but we not know you such mighty warrior. Mightier then me, or Flagbearer! Stop Joshua Graham, and White Legs are yours! Our Storm Drums, our wealth, our women, all yours! Please spare me!"

Seth stood back up. "Kill him." he stated simply.

Joshua let his gun do the replying, firing on the War Chief until his cartridge was empty. Across the valley, another gun was fired. The other one, however, shot only once.

* * *

A/N: And so the guns of Zion may finally fall silent.

I'm sorry if this seems kinda rushed, but I just wanted to cut out the parts of the story that are the same as the game, and get to the interesting bits.

For those of you who are wondering, Costello is meant to be Raul's analouge, Styx is Boone's, and the unnamed Boomer is Cass's. Bonus points to those who can guess why the first two are named what they are, and who the Boomer is. Yes, he's a named Boomer in the game. (The bit about him being Cass's analouge is a huge hint, by the way. Cass created his motive for joining Ulysses.)


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Zion's Fate

The battle for Zion and its tribe had ended, and now The Courier wandered through the dead and dying, overseeing the systimatic sacking of the White Legs camp.

After assisting some Dead Horses with a locked ammo box, Seth noticed a pair of Sorrows kneeling over one of the dead White Legs and cutting off its hand. This at first puzzled Seth, as he didn't think the once peaceful Sorrows would descend into savagry after one battle. He then remembered their tradition of forging weapons from Yao Guai paws, and realized they were trying to do something similar.

"Hey." Seth called out. "If you're looking for trophies, just take the thumb. Easier to carry around." He advised before continuing on through the destruction, boots soaking in tribal ash.

After walking a bit further, Seth was called over to a group of tribals responsible for burning the bodies of the dead. "We were gathering up the dead, but it seems this one hasn't joined the spirits yet." A Sorrow explained while guiding The Courier to a badly wounded White Leg a few feet away from a mass funeral pyre.

"Toss him on the pyre." Seth stated curtly. The sight of blood and burnt flesh was putting Seth back into the homicidal state of mind he had been in during the battle last night. What a savage fight that had been... Of course, he didn't feel traumatized or guilty about the violence, he just felt way too tired to get into the battle frenzied mindset.

Seth didn't actually remember all of it, just some bits near the begining, the explosives closing off the path, and ordering Salt-Upon-Wounds' execution. As he searched his mind for memories, all he could recall was jumble of senses and the thrill of war. Drenched in warm blood, a cold steel gun kicking back as grenades detonate around him and burning flamed consumed all they touched. A White Leg splitting in two as Seth swings a stolen machete. He did loose his .45 caliber submachine gun at some point in the battle, for when The Courier awoke amidst a stack of corpses, the weapon was not on his person. After watching Graham kill the war chief, Seth lead the Dead Horses and Sorrows in butchering any survivers or prisoners, something he once again only had a vague memory of. The fact he missed one kinda surprised him.

"Well, okay, if you say so." The Sorrow replied. "Seems kinda, I don't know, bad. I don't think Daniel would like this."

"Listen, we're at war with the White Legs, and wars aren't over until every last member of one side is dead. If even one member of an enemy force survives, they will come back to bite you later." Seth explained. "This, I have experinced first hand." He added on when the Great Khans crossed his mind as an example. With those utterly ruthless, but pragmatic words, The Courier went to see the Burned Man.

Seth found the former Legate standing over the simple grave of Daniel in the Sorrow's camp. Caught up in the riotus and savage war celebration, Daniel was buried in a quick and dirty manner, and was almost thrown on the pyre by accident. "Terrible what happened to Daniel." Seth remarked, using all the sociopathy he has to keep his growing glee inside him. "Dying just hours before he could see the valley he loved become safe for the tribes he cared for.

"We must not allow this tragedy to sully our victory. The Lord clearly believed it was his time." Joshua replied in a measured tone. "Perhaps this is a sign from God. Daniel was opposed to the road the tribes must now walk. I believe it is time the tribes take their place in the wider world. We would be honored to recive a formal emissary from New Vegas."

"I would be similarly honored to enter an alliance with these noble tribals." Seth replied with a slight smile, knowing his victory was complete. "You know, there's still a whole ton of Legion swarming all over Arizona. With a little more training and some better weapons, which New Vegas will gladly provide, I'm sure your warriors could easily surpass them."

"It is the duty of those choosen by God to deliver the torch of enlightenment to those in darkness. Perhaps we are interpreting this too literally, but I shall join you in this rightous effort." The Burned Man declared, and the two departed from Daniel's grave to discuss the details of their alliance.

The first order of business agreed upon was that the Happy Trails Caravan Company (who were soon to be a New Vegas company) would be granted trading rights with the Zion tribals, Dead Horse Point, and the surviving New Canaanites. The tribals would give excess radiation-free food and water, as well as a share of the spoils of further conquests, for advanced, high-powered weapons to better fight their enemies, chief among them Caeser's Legion. In addition, any curious tribals who wanted to see civilization would be able to travel to New Vegas on a caravan, with special incentives to join the Army. A radio set was also going to be delivered to allow easy, quick communication.

Finally, it was time for The Courier to return to his kingdom. After reciving the appropriate maps, Seth met up with Follows-Chalk, and the two left Zion Valley changed forever, back to the growing Mojave. Follows-Chalk would fullfill his dream of seeing civilization, and while he would have many great experinces there, he would lose a little piece of his old self as well.

Waking Cloud had Daniel's trechary revealed to her in a brutal, tactless manner by The Courier, and the bitterness created by this hardened her heart. She shed no tears upon hearing of the preacher's death, and for years to come would vocally oppose any who echoed the dead man's words.

Joshua Graham, the inner fire of war raging within him once more, lead the Sorrows and Dead Horses on increasingly brutal campaigns. Savagely tearing apart Caeser's Legion and the hostile tribes that harassed Happy Trails, the Burned Man and the one who directed him became feared throughout the East. And while the two tribes never came to blows with each other, growing competitivness between them drove each tribe to further atrocities, a twisted effort to impress their War Chief and The Courier.

With their War Chief dead and their camp sacked and burnt, it seemed as though the surviving White Legs were seemingly doomed to oblivion, but this was not to be. For at the last hour of the battle, The Flagbearer and his followers had arrived to lead the survivors to The Divide, for their final place in history, where a final battle shall signal the death of a nation...

* * *

A/N: Apologizes for the shortness, but this is really just a wrap up chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Internal Affairs

After a long trip out of Zion Valley with Follows-Chalk as his companion, Seth triumphently returned to the Mojave, the treaty signed by him and The Burned Man in hand. Things had remained largely unchanged during his absence, with Yes Man administering the day to day operations, and no major catastrophe had demanded Seth's leadership.

The Mojave and NCR remained deadlocked. All invasion routes into the Mojave were blocked off by Holograms, landmines, bear traps and sniper teams. Yes Man had calculated that in order to breach these defenses, the NCR would have to throw massive waves of troops at the barracades, with a projected 64.9% casualtie rate. In addition to generating massive voter backlash, this plan would leave the invasion force stranded behind enemy lines without a supply lines. Seth's forces could easily destroy any survivors. For now, Seth still had the advantage, slowly chipping away at the Republic with Boomer air strikes and HELIOS shots.

That is not to say Seth was letting his guard down. By contrast, one of the first things he did after his return was strengthen internal security, well aware that the NCR would likely try to infiltrate his kingdom and find away to sabotage the Holograms. To better guard the home front, Seth and The King reached an agreement (which Pacer was the most vocal supporter of) to expand the Kings in a manner that would transform into secret police.

The deal was signed on a bleak, cloudy day inside the School of Impersonations. Inside the stage room, The King watched from a chair as Pacer and a few other Kings dug through several briefcases of high powered pistols, chief among them .45 autos, 12.7s, police pistols, and 5.56s. All of these shiny new weapons had been manufactured at the Gun Runner's facility (under new managment). Crates of reinforced leather armor also lay scattered about the room, with the King's symbol on the left shoulder and Seth's symbol (the diamond between two bars) on the right. Seth had hand delivered the new equipment himself, and Pacer looked like a kid on Christmas day.

"Alright good buddy, who do we need to run out of town?" The aggresive second in command asked.

"Troublemakers, dissadents, terrorists, criminals, stuff like that." Seth replied simply. "Spread your guys throughout the Mojave, and if you see of hear any signs of trouble, investigate and deal with it. And don't be afraid to request back up for something serious enough." He elaborated. "And above else, have fun!" he added with the manic grin most people had come to associate with the dictator.

The Kings first major case began when a rank and file King noticed a pair of shady goons enter the Silver Rush through a window. After clearing out the energy weapons stored there, the building had sat empty, as no use was currently planned for it.

Following the two in, the King observed as they opened a safe hidden beneath some floor panels the cleaning crew had missed. After watching them remove some documents, the King attacked them. Getting the drop on them with his new .45 auto pistol, he shot the first man three times in the leg and stomach. The second intruder sprung into action, karate chopping the King on the arm, causing him to drop his weapon, then slicing him across the face with a knife. The Courier's servant struck back with a bunch to the stomach.

Slamming his fist into the King's face, the man with the knife took off, papers in hand, while motioning to his cohort to do the same. As the second man limped out, their enemy regained his weapon and shot him in the shoulder, sending him to the floor. Too injured to persue the other man, the King secured the down intruder and waited for the robots the gunfire had attracted.

The wounded criminal was brought to the School of Impersonation, and brutally interrogated by Pacer. Through broken teeth and bleeding gums, the thug revealed he was a former employee of the Van Graffs, out on business when the Mojave branch had been slaughtered. A Brotherhood of Steel survivor had contacted him with the offer of a sizable reward in exchange for the location of a cache of energy weapons. The papers he stole was a map to the cache.

"The only name he ever used was Max." The thug concluded.

"And that's all you know?" Pacer asked, and recived a nod as a response. "Bag him." He ordered curtly, causing another King to cover the prisoner's head with a bag. When the bag was removed, the Van Graff found himself on his knees, hands tied together, a freshly dug grave behind him.

"Looks like there's no tomorrow for you." Pacer remarked while cocking the police pistol pressed to the man's forehead and firing.

A few hourse later, a squad of Kings clad in their new leather armor stormed the sewers of North Vegas, where the Brotherhood survivor had made base. Pushing down and roughing up and civlians in their path, they stoped when confronted with a large locked door. Rather then spend time picking the lock, two bricks of C4 were used to blow it off its hinges.

They rushed in to find the survivor on his knees, hands on his head. "Max" (real name Randall) was young Brotherhood of Steel initiate with sandy brown hair and light skin. He had been outside the bunker on the night of the chapter's massacre, having snuck out inspite of the lock-down. He had spent his whole life in the bunker, and wanted to see the outside world just once. After discovering the death of his brothers, he vowed to carry on his orders mission, but now realized he bit off more then he could chew.

His hopes for a peaceful surrender were cut short as the screaming bullets painted the walls red.

Once the mess had been cleaned up, Father Elijah and Veronica were dispatched to examine the technology Randall had collected. "Let's see: energy weapons, a water de-radiator... Huh, some of these notes are on a number of technologies based around farming. Funny that a lone initiate had more foresight then all the Elders." Veronica remarked sarcastically.

"Precisely the reason they deserved to go extincent my dear." Elijah replied. "They couldn't adapt, couldn't rise to the challenges of the times! The world has no more need for their dusty, useless mission of stagnation. People like you and I, and your friend Seth, must improve the Old World, not wallow in its dust."

"I know, I know." Veronica replied with a sigh. "It just seems like the Brotherhood was wasted. I mean, maybe you could have changed it..."

"Veronica, I will have no more of this foolish talk. I have explained my reasons for leaving the Brotherhood at length already, and I shall not be questioned by my own apprentice!" Elijah replied sternly. "Now we must complete the task at hand."

With the Kings' skill at enforcement demonstrated, The Courier dispatched them across the Mojave to root out sedation. Their strong sense of home town protection corrupted into a violent sense of xenophobia, they proved to be brutal and efficent enforcers. (A couple slides go by: One of some Kings beating a man in an NCR uniform into the dirt, another of some Kings in the leather armor storming into a house and shooting everyone, and some Kings dumping several bodies into a large grave.) They proved to have the advantege of human cunning over the mechanical Securitrons.

With them patrolling the Wastes, Seth enemies were being shown no quarter. Which proved to be a source of stress for two conspirators. "We need to step up the time table for the plan, Swank. This is the third time this week those Kings have come snopping around!" Spoke the ghoulified Chris to his partner inside the low rent Freeside flat they had rented.

"Chill, daddy-o, chill. I turned them away, didn't I?" Swank responded, as he did indeed use his smooth talking to convince the Kings nothing was amiss. "But you're right, out little plan needs to go down soon. I've heard there's a party at the Lucky 38 in a few days, so how about we bring a present?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this seems like filler, but I wanted to get across some of The Courier's dictatoral nature and show a little bit of Veronica's motivation. Next chapter will be more exciting.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Party of One

For the first time in hundreds of years, since before the great war, the Lucky 38 was one jumpin' joint. Though it had been filled with a variety of guards, bureaucrats, robots, and diplomats since Seth seized power, this was the first time it had been packed with revelers. The occasion for the celebration? The two year anniversary of the change in managment.

The guest list was a practical who's who of Courier supporters. Mayors of towns, military officers, scientists and, of course, the Companions. Dean Domino was on stage, providing music, while ED-E moved back and forth overhead, scanning for trouble. Aside from Boone, who leaned on a wall glaring at people, the other companions were all having fun, even Lily, whose dancing made for a spectacular scene.

The Courier himself was pulling an ear of corn off a well stocked banquet table while speaking to Raul and Veronica. After taking a bite out of it, he commented "I must say Veronica, you and Elijah have done wonderful work with that farming technology we recovered from Vault 22. I'm sorry he couldn't be here tonight."

"Yeah, well, Father Elijah never was one for social events." Veronica replied. "I'm still amazed we managed to make the entire area North of Vegas bloom with life. There are enough crops growing to feed this whole city."

"Self-sufficency is the name of the game, my dear. Something the Brotherhood never understood." Seth stated with a sigh. "Through you two is the only way it could live on."

"I'm just glad to see the Fiends gone boss." Raul added. "You know how I feel about raiders."

"I have no love for them as well, my friend." Seth added reassuringly while clasping the ghoul on the shoulder. "We're building a better world, you know. All of us! And in that world, Raul, what happened to your family will never occur again."

Meanwhile, as The Courier spoke his sweet words, ED-E hovered overhead, scanning for threats. His pre-programed route eventually took him to a realitvely sparse corner, filled with chairs and a coffe table. Along the walls, Securitron guards stood watch over the guests.

One of the hulking robots attracted the ED-E's attention. The hovering robot began to flitter about erraticaly, scanning every inch of the machine's iron frame. However, similar to the speakers of the Sierra Madre, something within ED-E's radio waves brought the ticking (poorly made) time bomb hidden inside the robot's frame.

The detonation rocked the building and dispersed the toxic gas stored within. Shards of shrapnel ripped through ED-E as the undamaged robots surged to action. Quickly herding the partiers onto the Cocktail Lounge's elevators. The Courier himself, along with Follows-Chalk (who he had been talking to when the bomb detonated) rushed for the an elevator.

Seth pulled a special key out of his pocket, and quickly jammed into a lock on the button panel. This special key allowed the elevator to rise from the Cocktail Lounge to The Courier's high security penthouse. The two tumbled out of the compartment, to be greeted by Yes Man's cheery voice.

"Hey there boss! How goes the party?" The AI asked from the oversized computer screen. Seth rushed up, his pieced together waist coat fluttering behind him. He rapidly began pushing buttons and issuing voice commands as Follows-Chalk stood somewhat dazed by the elevator door, which by now had closed.

"Alert all Securitrons, lock down the Strip gate, we are on Red Alert!" Seth ordered in a panic, fearing assination.

"Hey boss? Just a quick heads up, but the elevator is arriving." Yes Man stated, lightening Seth's expression.

"Good, help is on the way."

He instently knew his statement was false, however, when two pulse grenades rolled out of the elevator, disabling several Securitrons and blinding Follows-Chalk. Seth spun around to face the intruder.

"...Swank? How'd you get up here?" Seth demanded of the suit wearing assassin. In response, the Chairman held up a key, identical to Seth's, with the minor exception of an engraved initial.

"You really should be more carefull who you give these to. That is gonna be your last mistake." Swank responded while pulling a 9mm. "Your first was screwing with the Chairmen."

He opened fire upon Seth, firing up the dictator's rusty survival instincits. Jumping behind a piece of furniture, Seth pulled his own pistol (a .45 auto) and returned fire. The Courier was only packing two spare clips, and in his frenzy had already used up his first one. Swank, however, was carrying plenty of ammo, as well as frag grenade, which he pulled from his pocket while advancing on The Courier's current hiding spot.

However, the tables rapidly turned as Follows-Chalk recovered from his daze, and crashed his War Club across the back of Swank's head. The tribal then drew his own .45 and trained it on the downed Chairman. "So, what do you reckon we should do with him?" The somewhat childish man asked.

"I know just what to do to him." Seth uttered in a low growl as he advanced on the prisoner. His first move was to crush Swank's gun hand beneath his shoe. He followed that up with a kick to the ribs. Seth then pulled Swank to his feet, in order to smash a whiskey bottle sitting on a nearby table across his head, leaving lacerations all across Swank's face, little shards of glass burrowing into his skin, poping blood vessels like ballons. The Chairman's knees buckled as Seth smashed an actual chair across his head, with enough force to shatter it to pieces. Now face first in bloodsoaked rug, Swank was slowly and viciously beaten to death by Seth with a leg from the shattered chair. Seth continued to tenderize the body long after the man was dead.

His black, stiched together waistcoat and trouser outfit now soaked red in blood, Seth staggered over to the key Swank had been holding, until it had been knocked from his grasp. Each of these keys is unique, engraved with the initials of the one it had been given to. A look that could almost be described as hurt crossed The Courier's face as he read it. "Arcade" he muttered with hatred.

He finally noticed Follows-Chalk standing over the body. Sure, tribal warfare was brutal, but the savagery he had just witnessed... that was something else. "So, Mr. Chalk, what do you think of civilization?" Seth asked as the chair leg fell from his grasp.

* * *

Meanwhile, far from the Mojave, the Burned Man walks along the shores of the Great Salt Lake, boots soaking in tribal blood. Following the Massacre at Three Marys, and without the moderating voice of Daniel, Joshua had lead the Sorrows and Dead Horses on a campaign to the Great Salt Lake, intent on finishing their enemies by butchering them in their homes.

As they marched down the long, trecharous road, Joshua and his forces slaughtered any opposing tribes and communities they encountered. To be spared, one had to surrender supplies to the war party and promise shelter and protection to any caravans traveling from the Mojave.

The former Legate had been thinking a great deal about The Courier and the stories he had told of his exploits. Many of his tales were fantastical, bordering sometimes on impossible. Those, combined with his sudden apperance in the tribes' hour of need, had lead the man of god to believe that The Lord had some form of plan for this man and his nation, and that divine providence indicated that Joshua (who has returned to his bloody ways) should aid him.

When the war party arrived at the Lake's shore, they find no trace of the White Legs, only 80's tribals picking over an evacuated camp. After killing them, Joshua ordered his scouts to search for some trace of the tribe. Judging by the pace one of the Dead Horses was rushing towards the war chief, they had found them.

The scout lead Joshua to a small metal shack, one of the many improvised shelters dotting the wasteland. The building had obviously not be inhabited in some time, as a thick layer of dust blanketed the metal.

Noticing something bright beneath the dust coat, Joshua rubbed away a portion of the dust. Underneath was an American flag painted in tribal pigments. "What do we have here?"

* * *

Back in New Vegas, a doctor stood on trial.

In the Lucky 38 basement, Arcade Gannon stood chained to the floor of the pit used to demostrate the Securitron upgrade during Seth's coup. The Courier and a few of his supporters stood in the viewing area as The Courier passed judgement.

"This key to the Penthouse HQ, engraved with your initials, was found on the assassin. Standerd procedure is to report a stolen key as soon as it becomes aparent you have lost it. It could have not have been stolen during the party, as security footage shows Swank was nowhere near you during the celebrations." Seth read out. "What do you have to say in your defense?"

Arcade sighed. "I... I couldn't let you continue this... madness. You've changed Seth! What happened to the man who wanted the people of the Mojave to live safe, peaceful lives?"

"You're looking at him!" Seth shoot back. "You're the one who's changed! You've betrayed your Enclave roots, your father! You really thing he wants to go unavenged, rotting in some unmarked grave, full of NCR bullets? Last chance Gannon, I'm still willing to pardon you for your heinous crime."

Arcade's shoulders sagged for a moment, but then he puffed himself up, stood straight, and closed his eyes.

The Courier practically spat out the command. "Kill him."

The Securitrons opened fire, riddling the doctor and shreding his labcoat. Once the bullets subsided, Seth turned without a word for the elevator. He suddenly stopped when he realized he had passed Follows-Chalk. The Courier held out Arcade's key. "Congradulations, you've been promoted.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Showdown at the Nipton Corral (Disclaimer, no corral is actually present)

The Courier sat at his desk, reviewing the state of his empire. Food production was at an all time high, thanks to Father Elijah's work. After considerable difficulty, a strike force of robots and mercanaries had wrested several Sierra Madre vending machines away from the deathtrap casino. One was sent to be broken down and researched at the former Brotherhood Elder's lab at HELIOS, while the rest had been plugged in to the Lucky 38 basement.

After a little bit of hacking, The Courier was using Christine's "Coin Operated" combination of fission batteries and scrap metal to produce huge supplies of food, medicine and ammunition. Father Elijah had managed to crack the software code the machines ran on, allowing Seth to produce almost any kind of food or bullet with the counterfit chips or cigars.

Still, the machines had limits. They couldn't produce complete firearms, energy weapons, robots or explosive, as these were simply too complex, though Father Elijah was working to avert this. The machines could, however, produce components to these devices, which then had be put together elsewhere. The weapon components were shipped to the former Gun Runner's plant, and robot parts were sent to Cerulean Robotics and the factory beneath the fort.

It wasn't enough though. The machinery was old and rusted, and the patch jobs Raul and Veronica had given them only returned them to minimum production. The trickle of robots produced by these facilities were of terrible quality, and only compensated for their fragile frames with overwhelming firepower, which was only made possible by the vending machine's mass production of ammo.

Inspite of these flaws, the matter re-arrangers had proven immensely useful in other regards. The mass creation of food gave Seth an iron grip on the hearts and minds of the Mojave. The citizens of the new empire were unaware of where the food came from, as Seth maintained the farms to the North of Vegas, which both covered the machines' existence and stimulated the economy. Anyone who bothered to look would easily see that the harvests did not match the food output, but the populance was too busy chowing down on the large quantities of food they had purchased at cut-rate prices from their beloved dictator, who made a point of presenting himself as a charasmatic, benevolent, public leader, unlike the cold and impersonal Mister House.

And yet, these limitations proved utterly vexing to Seth. What was the point in having a happy, well-fed empire if he couldn't expand it? While Joshua Graham and his horde of tribals had recently seized a number of communities to the North in The Courier's name, complete with tribute caravans, and Legion territory to the East was being seized at a rapid pace (melted down legionary body armor was a prime source of scrap metal for Sierra Madre slugs) the territory was proving difficult to conquer in a traditonal sense.

Although the Legion had begun to fracture and infight without a clear leader, as Seth had slain both Caeser and Lanius, it was not to the degree The Courier had hoped, and even when fracturing did occur, most breakaway warlords were willing to put civil war on hold to unite against the hated forces of the Mojave. So fanatical was their hatred of Seth and his armies that the Legion would slaughter all the civilians living in the territory on the eve of battle to prevent Seth from conquering them. Once the battle was won, all The Courier's armies could do was loot the settlements of anything usefull and ship the plunder back home. Seth took solance in the fact that with time, his growing population would spread out into this land and claim it for themselves, but he wanted the mines and farms working now to fuel his conquest of the real prize: the NCR.

If Seth could conquer the NCR and seize its vast mineral, agricultural, aquatic and technological resources, he could transform his warlord province into a mighty empire, capable of standing on equal footing with his enemies. The burning of the bear flag to accomidate his own remained a distant dream at the moment, however. For while he could lob Boomer bombs, HELIOS One blasts and Cloud-filled projectiles into the Republic, with Hologram sentries blocking off all routes of retaliation, Seth did not have the manpower to seize his prize. Despite his abundance of weapons, he did not have the soldiers to wield them in his name.

"And even if I score a crushing military victory over NCR, it could take me decades to pacify the population." Seth mused inside his twisted mind. "Good thing I've had Elijah produce thousands of slave collars..."

His thoughts were suddenly interupted by a report from Yes Man. "Sir, I think we've located Ulysses!"

Ulysses. That was a name that weighed heavily on the mind of The Courier. A pair of espionage agents had discovered that this was the name of the rumored agent of Caeser traveling as a courier. A week later, the agents who made the report were found dead in their beds, the Old World flag painted in on the wall in blood drawn from their sliced open throats.

In addition to aiding the White Legs, Ulysses had launched several more attacks against the Mojave. Bombings, shootings, assasination, all marked with the sign of Old World America. Seth had deduced a pattern to these radom acts of terror, however. A majority of the plots were discovered pre-maturely or failed in action. Analyzing the plots, The Courier (no stranger to schemes and conspiracies himself) worked out that Ulysses placed importence on escaping a confrontation rather then actually destroying his target. In addition, the attacks that worked were needlessly "showy", when a simpler, less elaborate strike would get far more done.

A caravan, ripped apart on the open road, bodies blown apart by cleverly hidden C4, the Old World flag painted on the road in blood. It would have been far more efficent to hide the bodies, allowing numerous caravans to be ambushed repeatably. A raft, flying the American flag and full of dead bodies floating into Cottonwood cove. Loading it with supply crates stuffed with explosives would have done more damage. These raids are intended to be attention grabbers, baiting The Courier into a confrontation.

"Well if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get." Declared Seth. "Assemble the robots."

* * *

"Stay here and watch our backs, Sheriff. Me and the robots will go ahead." Commanded Seth. He and Sheriff Meyers, along with their posses of robots and deputies, respectively, stood amongst the ruins of Primm, which was in the process of being rebuilt.

It was Primm that Ulysses had struck, kidnapping several residents from their homes and painting his symbol on their doors. They had tracked him to the abandoned, burnt town, only to find the hostages laying dead in a path to the drive-in theater, .357 bullets lodged in their heads.

Surrounded by a wall of metal, Seth advanced up the bloodstained path, stopping at the mysterious satellite projecting a massive blue eye on the movie screen. Noticing the flag of America printed on the metal, Seth bent down to examine it...

"Do it Jackie boy." commanded the vaguely accented voice of Costello from the top floor of the town hall. The other follower of Ulysses, the red-haired, broken hearted Boomer Jack, nodded and pressed the button.

...Just as buried pulse charges detonated, shutting down his iron bodyguards. The discharge sparked something inside the satellite, causing it to erupt in a blue light, whisking away the Courier.

"And that's that." Costello stated non-chalontly while dusting his hands. "Kill the witnesses."

"What in Sam Hill...?" Was the reaction of the befuddled Meyers. The sheriff was brought back to reality by the wizzing of bullets, as several White Legs had charged out of the town hall and opened fire on him and his posse.

"Deputies! Stand your ground!" He called out to his motly band, who took cover and began returning fire. A few White Legs were cut down due to their lack of cover, but the hardened tribals continued to attack, cutting down several of the deputies.

Sheriff Meyers was returning fire with his 10mm pistol (curiously equiped with a silencer) from behind the bits of a destroyed house. After nailing one of the tribals between the eyes, he flinched as the head of a caravan shotgun using man exploded next to him. Meyers traced the shot to the upper window of the town hall, where Costello was taking potshots. "Cover me." he ordered a man with a 9mm machine gun and crouched ran out from his position, cliping a few White Legs as he went. Since his weapon was silenced and the tribals were scattering from the sudden burst of machine gun fire, however, they didn't exactly notice him.

After taking cover behind a patch of wall parrallel to the oncoming White Legs, Meyers examined the tribals until he saw one carrying what he needed. "Got'cha." he muttered before shoting one White Leg (silently) in the head and dashing out behind a White Leg adjacent to the one he just killed. Quickly sliding his combat knife between the tribal's exposed ribs from the side, the Sheriff pulled a frag grenade from his victim's belt, pulled the pin, and tossed it at Costello.

The grenade went off in mid-air, too far away to hurt the ex-King, but close enough to knock him on his ass with the shockwave. "Crap, that was too close! We need to scram, now!" Costello exclaimed, scared witless.

"I'll deal with the savages, you just start running." Jack replied while arming a 25mm Grenade APW. He then walked to the window and sprayed grenades all over the area, covering the ground in a field of explosions. Sheriff Meyers was thrown seven feet by the blast and knocked out upon colliding with a burnt house.

When he finally awoke, the two companions were gone and everyone else was dead, blown to pieces by the grenade barrage. He spent a moment retriving his hat before thinking profoundly about what had just occured.

"I am certainly gonna have to kill someone over this."

* * *

A/N: And so Old World Blues begins. I'm not going to actually focus so much on the actual quests from the game, seeing as you can just play those yourself. The main focus will be on Seth's use of the Big MT. and how it affects the ongoing war with the NCR.

Also, Sheriff Meyers was always one of my favorite minor characters, so he gets some spotlight this chapter.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Empty Mountin, Empty Soul

The Courier awoke from his stupor atop a balcony overlooking a glowing night time vista, illuminating by neon light. After returning to his feet and noticing he was wearing a surgical gown, Seth quickly checked himself over.

"Well, no unexplained tattoos, that's a good start." Seth commented once he was finished checking himself over. "Still, these scars are... worrying." A quick search of his surroundings showed the only path open was a door that lead to a silent living space, which lead to an elevator.

A strange feeling of calm washed over Seth as he stepped out of the elevator. The anger and paranoia that had lurked in his mind ever since Goodsprings seemed to just melt away, leaving him unable to so much as raise his fists in aggression. The Courier found this sensation somewhat disturbing, for while his mind was free of violent thoughts, he felt somehow... incomplete. Vengeful hatred (later on a lust for power) was what had sustained him during his journey, what gave him the willpower to come back from Benny's bullets. Seth wasn't sure what he'd be if he didn't get his inner rage back.

Once these musings were finished, Seth stepped up to see some of the strangest... things he has ever encountered.

"LOBOTOMITE! YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE MIGHTY THINK TANK! RULERS OF BIG MOUNTIN! MASTERS OF SCIENCE! PERVAYERS OF... WHICH ONE OF YOU TAMPERED WITH MY VOICE DIAL?"

The Courier, who would normally have collapsed into hysterics at the bickering and innuendo the brain jars descended into, simply stood slack jawed astonishment. Unless his ears were mistaken, he was currently inside the Big MT, a place Father Elijah had described as a treasure trove of powerful scientific secrets.

"Excuse me good sirs, but am I correct in assuming I am currently within the Big Empty?" Seth asked inquistively.

"Uh, execuse me, the correct name of this facility is Big MOUNTIN." Doctor 0 responded. "People just see the letters M and T next to each other and start rubbing their Occum's Razor all over the place."

"QUIET O, THE LOBOTOMITE IS TALKING AND I'M TRYING TO IGNORE IT. I CAN'T IGNORE BOTH OF YOU AT THE SAME TIME!" Klein interrupted.

Once 0's indignent response had ended, The Courier smirked and asked "So, oh mighty Think Tank, how may I serve you?"

* * *

The Courier staggered to his feet while jamming a stimpack into his arm. After accepting his mission and chatting with the Think Tank, Seth set out into Big MT, intent on claiming the scientific secrets Elijah had raved about during the science talks the two had on the trip home from the Sierra Madre. If Seth could aquire these secrets, he might have the power to finally crush the NCR.

One "wonder" of the Big MT Seth already had the pleasure of meeting was the lobotomite. "Charming fellows." he commented under his breath while removing the mask worn by one, revealing the gruesome physical deformities carved into its head.

Pulling out the combat knife he always keeps in his shoe, Seth used to blade to hack and tear through the head, interested in what kind of drastic brain surgery had resulted in such scarring.

Prying open the skull like a Mojave Express Package, The Courier was astonished to see the brain itself had become similar to a shriveled up prune, and the skull cavity was now stuffed full of wire, diodes, and other beeping electronics.

"Now ain't THAT a kick in the head."

About six hours and an upgrade to the Sonic Emitter later, Seth (now clad in Mad Scientist Scrubs filched from The Sink) stood at the bottom of the X-12 Research Center. After disabling the forcefield and eliminating the Master Overide Harness, he had decided to set up a makeshift laboratory here where he could dissect the inhabitents of Big MT, one at a time. Though his Science expertise was nowhere near on par with Father Elijah's or the Think Tank's, Seth figured he'd at least be able to hack his specimens apart and see how they work.

A computer had been reactivated to put notes on and the forcefield was back up to ensure privicy. "Let's see what's inside..." The Courier hummed as he cut open the head of the first Lobotomite he had dragged here. This one had been killed by a Sonic Emitter blast to the head. When Seth looked inside, none of the electronic brain implants were functioning, with several having vibrated right out of the gray matter.

"Oops." Seth muttered when he accidently pulled a big chunk of dripping brain tissue out with an electronic device. After carefully disassembling it, he realized that the Sonic Emitter had shook the skull to the point that the sound waves had shattered the circuits and loosened the plugs. Since the brain was entirely dependent on the electronics, once the Lobotomite meat sack had no centeral intelligence to keep blood pumping, control muscles, breath, etc... and they died.

"Well, I can tell I'm not gonna get much from you." Seth stated, setting aside a few electronics to pick at later.

The next Lobotomite had its head shot off. Digging through his open neck hole, The Courier ripped out the spine to examine closely. The spine, like the brain, had bits of electronics buried in it. Examination of a third Lobotomite that had an arm and leg blown off by a grenade showed the machinery went as deep as blood vessels. These devices closed off veins leading to wounds, preventing blood loss. Each brain also had a chunk missing where the brain controls fear.

After picking over the corpses to an acceptable degree, Seth turned his attention to the machinery he'd pried from the flesh. He was particullary interested in the signal receptors at the base of the neck...

* * *

About a day and a half later, The Courier was rumaging through the Securitron Plant like a kid on Christmas Day. Not only were these unicycle death bots superior to his unicycle death bots in combat performance (the software left much to be desired, though) they came with a fully equiped factory as well!

While digging through the weapons system on a Securitron destroyed by a Saturnate Power Fist to the rather disturbing monitor face, Seth suddenly heard the sound of ticking. Having set off enough landmines to know that was a bad sound, he quickly backpeddled across the room, just as the robot's missle stores exploded.

After dusting the ash off, Seth put a note in his PipBoy. "Note to self. Improved Securitrons contain hair trigger missles.

* * *

Many days later, Seth was back in his lab, three Y-17 Trauma Harnesses lay on a table. The Courier himself was seated at his computer desk, entering some final calculations. Then, with a flourish, Seth hit the enter key.

On the table, the Trauma Harnesses sit up, and in unsettling sychronization, turn their heads towards The Courier with their empty eye sockets.

This was not to last, however, as the machines began to smoke and spark after a few seconds, before blowing up in a storm of metal and bone shrapnel. After climbing out from under the desk, Seth took a look around at the destruction. "Damn, I thought I fixed that bug." he muttered while slipping off his gloves. "Well, I guess I can fix it after I visit the Forbidden Zone."

Indeed, after almost two weeks of bloody and unethical experimentation, The Courier had finally gathered the neccasary technologies to storm the lair of Mobius. Once he is reunited with his brain, Seth is certain that the entire Big MT, and all its horribly unethical technologies, would be his.

And then the Republic would fall.

* * *

A/N: As I've said before, when doing the DLCs, I prefer to cut out the gameplay stuff, because we've all seen that and it gets rather tedious to both write and read.

With the Forbidden Zone within reach, what will happen when Seth comes face to jar with Doctor Mobius, as well as the only being as twisted and power hungry as he is?


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Battle of the Brains

"So let me make sure we understand one another." Seth asked, standing face to monitor with Mobius. "Everything you've done so far has been to keep the Think Tank contained so their technology dosen't ravage the Mojave?"

"Yes, that is my raisin for my actions." Spoke the senile scientist. "I'm sorry if I've troubled you, but I made sure your brain is perfectly safe."

"I thank you for that." Seth replied calmly. He then turned the Sonic Emitter on the impossibly old man, short-circuiting his floating apparatus and shattering the glass dome. After the genius mind hit the floor with a wet *thud*, Seth used a laser pistol to disintegrate the gray matter. "But I'm afraid I need the Big MT to do some ravaging of my own. I hope this all isn't going over your head."

The Courier moved up the stairs, allowing him to see his floating, disembodied brain. "Well, look who's finally done with all his fancy running about!" The Brain greeted. "I hope you don't think I'm taking you back, not with all this 'lead from the front' foolishness that is going to get us killed one day!"

"Well, I suppose that's perfectly reasonable." Replied Seth simply.

"Don't you try and win me back with your... Wait what?"

"If you don't want to go in my head, you don't have to." Seth stated in his flat voice. "This works out rather nicely, actually. It's actually a good idea to have my... well, myself backed up somewhere."

"What are you proposing?" The Brain asked. If it had eyes, it would have narrowed them in suspicion.

"Simple. You are opposed to my lead from the front attitude, but still desire to rule the nation we have built, correct?"

"Quite right."

"So here's how this can work." Seth explained. "You stay in your safe little tank, which we will plug into the Big MT mainframe. You'll become Cyber-Controller of the entire Big MT facility, second only to New Vegas itself. I can handle all the running about and handshaking you are so wary of, and you use the facilities here to build and control an army capable of destroying our enemies. And we know neither of us will betray the other, seeing as you are me and I am you. It would practically be suicide!"

"I like what you are proposing, but we still have one obstacle." The Brain replied. "The Think Tank."

"Right. From what I've gathered from my experiments and talking to Mobius, you should be able to disable the pacification field." The Courier then cracked his knuckles. "After that, leave the Think Tank to me."

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Seth called out sarcastically as he stepped into the room of the Think Tank. He smirked a bit as he noticied the pacification field had been shut down.

"THE LOBOTOMITE HAS RETURNED. IS MOBIUS SLAIN?" Asked Klein.

"Dead as dirt." Seth claimed. Klein was about to start taking again, but Seth cut him off. "And please skip the part where you seem to give me my freedom, then betray me, I saw it coming. You may be interested to know that the pacification field is currently off line, and I'm packing." He continued, while hefting a fully charged LAER rifle. The room was silent. "Marvelous. Now sit down (wait, scratch that part) and shut up while I explain how things are gonna work from here on out."

"Now, I know you want to go out into the world and blow things up with science, but a large percentage of the world you'd be blowing up is mine, so that is a big no-no. I can, however, bring some of that world here to the Big MT, where you can cut it apart your artifical heart's content." Seth explained. " All this will be done under the careful watch of my drain-bound brain, as well as my own troops I'll be bringing in. This science is going to be for my benefit, and mine alone. I need soldiers and weapons, and you have the means to make them." Seth was quite for a moment. "Or you could refuse my generous offer, at which point I'll kill you and do all this anyway."

The brains discussed the situation for some time. Eventually, Klein addressed The Courier. "VERY WELL LOB... PARTNER. THE BIG MT IS YOURS. WE SUBMIT TO YOUR GUN CLENCHING PENIS HANDS."

* * *

After ensuring his Brain was fully integrated in the Big MT's computer system, Seth began his trip back to the Mojave. After ensuring his empire had not crumbled in his abcense (it hadn't) The Courier assembled his forces and returned to the Big MT.

It took two solid weeks of fighting, but eventually the renegade experiments were either killed or contained. Repairs began immediately, with the Mojave's top minds, including Father Elijah and Veronica, directing the science. The Think Tank proved vital in this endeavor. While they may be difficult to deal with at times, the prospect of reactivating the facility to it's full potential motivated them to cooperate.

After four months, the Forbidden Zone was a hive of activity. Uniformed soldiers, lab coat wearing scientists and Y-17 Trauma Harnesses moved about the Robo-Warfare center. Overhead, a loud speaker could be heard blaring "This is a reminder: Please do not interact with the trauma harnesses. That may cause them to kill you."

Inside the former sanctum of Mobius, The Courier, his brain, and his companions are viewing the massive wall screen. The feed is coming from a camera equipped Eyebot, one of the many machines produced at the Big MT.

The Eyebot was currently spying on one of the many NCR military camps assembled along the road to the Mojave. A pair of sentries are looking down the road leading to Vegas. Suddenly, the head of one lookout flies apart as though struck by a Super Sledge. Before his partner can respond, an invisible knife slits his throat. A few moments later, the stealth boys lose power, revealing a pair of Lobotomites, one holding a super sledge, the other a combat knife.

With the watch gone, a swarm of robo-scorpions charged down the road into the camp. The NCR soldiers were caught unprepared, and were torn asunder by the machines. Limbs went flying as concentrated energy beams ripped apart the troopers. Those that attempted to flee were turned to ash by the concentrated energy beams.

Once the guns fell silent, a new type of Securitron rolled out amongst the corpses. It had only only one arm, which had all types of electronics attached. Scanning the dead, it quickly zoned in on one soldier that was still amongst the living. It aimed the cannon arm, and in a flash of blue light, the wounded soldier was gone without a trace. The modified Securitron continued to search the battlefield and blasting the wounded until only the dead were left.

Once the flashes had faded from the eyes of the troopers, they found themselves in a sanitized white room.

With a vicious looking array of saws, cutters and knives hanging from the ceiling. "Welcome to the Big MT cyber enhancement and thought correction facility." A computerized female voice spoke up. "Remain calm. This will only hurt for a century." It continued as the instruments descended.

* * *

Back in the control room, Seth has remain straight faced throughout the entire bloody display. After a moment, he commented "Marvelous. Continue production post-haste." He then grinned. "We'll have the power to defeat NCR in no time."

Meanwhile, Ulysses is standing in front of a table. Currently seated is Chris, face down with a bullet in his skull. Abruptly, a voice speaks. "Everything's gravy here Daddy-O. I think we should beat it before the Kings find the place."

"Wise words, Benny." Replied Ulysses. "But in the end to things that is approaching, wise words are not enough. Gather all our forces. We ride to the Divide. If the Courier follows, we shallgave an ending to things."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Divided Loyalties

The elevator dings as Yes Man's Securitron platform rolls into Seth's office. "Package for you, sir!" The robot exclaimed happily. "We've run it through every possible security check, and I think you'll be very interested in who it's from."

The Courier stopped his work and examined the package. A single word was scribbled on the tiny box, a name, one Seth had obsessed over for many weeks.

Ulysses.

Cautiously opening the package, similar to many he himself had delivered during his old career, Seth found an unremarkable holotape inside, similar to so many across the wastes. The message contained within, however, was the first crack that would shatter a nation.

"Courier. It's time we have an end to things. Come to the Divide. Bring your nation, your flag, and the weapons you have gathered beneath it. We shall see who breaks."

The Courier was silent, thinking this over. This was his chance to end Ulysses once and for all. "Yes Man, bring me all the information we have on The Divide. Then, prepare the armies. We will march as soon as possible."

The war drums began to beat across the Mojave as The Courier assembled his army. Most of his robots were still battling the NCR, so Seth would have to use his "home grown" soldiers to storm The Divide.

As for the location itself, little could be found about it, save for the road they'd need to take and some vague information about a desolate wasteland none had returned from. Mister House's records indicated a pre-war military facility had once been their, so The Courier knew his foe would be well armed.

Weeks later, all the forces that would march on The Divide were prepared. Securitrons, Powder Gangers, Tribals, Boomers (who's bombers were unable to attack the Divide due to the raging storms), Great Khans and many recruited and conscripted denizens of the Mojave. Most were already on the march, but one regiment of soldiers, the elite guard that would be accompanying The Courier and his companions into this battle.

This regiment was still in New Vegas, standing before the Lucky 38 as the citizens of New Vegas looked on. Seth himself stood at the atop the steps to the casino, clearing his throat to deliver a pre-battle speech to the assembled troops and the awed populace.

These were the best of the Mojave's home grown troops. The front units were clad in Power Armor painted gold and crimson. They had been trained using knolwedge Seth had gained from the Brotherhood and the Remnants, and the suits were looted NCR scavanged power armor suits that had been re-powered by Veronica and Elijah. Only those that displayed absolute devotion to Seth and New Vegas were given the honor of wearing those suits. Amongst them were the Weathers children, freed by Seth and Boone's attack on Cottonwood Cove. After The Courier took over, the family, free of their abusive father, became die hard supporters of the new regime, with the children going so far as to join the army. Seth had discreetly approved their inclusion into the power armor unit by executive order knowing they'd never betray him.

Behind the armored shock troops stood a unit protected by combat armor and armed with assault carbines. These soldiers, despite their skill in combat, were not given power armor due to lacking fanatical loyalty. Behind them stood the grenadiers, armed with 25mm APWs and carrying two of every grenade, and the medics, weighed down by medicine and carrying only lever-action shotguns for defense.

The assembled crowd fell silent as The Courier began to speak. "People of New Vegas, look how far we have come." He began slowly enrapturing the crowd with his maxed out speech skill. "In the time since the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the people of New Vegas have freed themselves of many things. We have been freed from slavery at the hands of the Legion, freed from the bureaucracy of the NCR, freed of the cold, unfeeling claws of Mister House. The scientific advances we have made have freed us from hunger and radiation. Today, I am proud to announce we shall also be freed from the Old World."

"An enemy of the State has seized control of an ancient military facility, and has assembled raiders, tribals, and other foes of civilization in an attempt to destroy what is rightfully ours! They plan to march on our nation, burn our cities, plunder our wealth, slaughter our children, and undo the progress we have all made!" Seth declared ominously. "But as long as I still live, this shall not happen! I will lead our forces into battle and destroy this threat, as I shall the Republic to the West! New Vegas will stand above all others, the sole power of the postapocalyptic world!" Seth finished, screaming his declaration to the jubulent crowd.

The citizens cheered and the soldiers became determined as The Courier descended the steps to join his troops. A megaphone was passed to the dictator. "ONWARD!" He ordered, and the pumped up army marched into battle to the cheers of hundreds.

What ensued was a long march for the armies of The Courier. Only one narrow trail lead to the Divide, causing the assembled soldiers and weapons to trickle ahead at a snail's pace. Numerous motor vehicles laden with supplies had to be abandoned along the way, shifting the load to increasingly weary soldiers. Finally, after three months of marching, The Divide was finally in sight.

The infantry were awestruck at the broken land and the twisting skies, the devastation that man had wrought. A forced cough caught their attention.

"Would one of you boys mind opening the door? It's impolite to keep a lady waiting, you know?" Spoke Veronica, who stood behind them, as did a heavily modified Securitron with Father Elijah's holographic face on the computer screen.

The soldiers snapped to attention and prepared a block of C4 to blow the door down, only for it to slide open on it's own accord. The troopers looked to Veronica for instructions.

The rogue scribe activated her radio. "Seth, it's Veronica. The doors to the base we arrived at just opened up on their own. Someone is expecting us."

"Then send in our fresh troops to reveal any ambush. Then deploy the Securitrons when we know what we are up against." Seth replied through his own walkie-talkie. He was at the middle of the supply line, marching alongside his soldiers who he was so willing to sacrifice. "Seth out."

"Well, it seems we've been ordered into the breach." Commented Veronica as she, Father Elijah's securitron, and a squad of infantry marched in. No resistance was encountered, save some technical issues Father Elijah was able to resolve using the many tools he built into his robotic avatar. The machinery present, including an empty robot containment chamber, fascinated the old man, but he continued after Seth informed him he could pick over the settlements after the battle is done.

The first blood of this battle to be spilt was that of a young army private, whose current objective was to unlock a door that lead to the missile silo. As the metal slid away, he found himself face to face with a tri-beam laser rifle. His career ended brightly as his body burned to ash.

"Hostiles!" One other grunt shouted as the now four man infantry squad opened fire on the rifle wielding figure in shining power armor. Two of them took a knee, one dropped on his belly and the last one stayed standing as all four fired their assault carbines into the armored figure.

The bullets richoted off the armor uselessly as the Brother of Steel dispatched all four with four casually aimed laser blasts, arrogantly taking his time to aim carefully, knowing the bullets coudn't pierce his armor.

Shortly after killing the last soldier, Father Elijah and Veronica rushed in. Veronica was shocked at the sight of another member of the Brotherhood, but Elijah, safe in his control station at HELIOS, commanded his robot to gun down the Paladin with a gauss rifle shot to the helmet, crumpling the armor and causing the man's brains to leek out of the cracks in a gory trickle.

"A survivor..." Veronica muttered to herself.

"Yes, it seems Seth wasn't as thorough as he should have been..." Elijah mused.

"But Father, think of what this must mean!" Veronica began to plead." These survivors are willing to help Ulysses, maybe they've changed! Maybe we don't have to kill them!"

"Veronica, look at where we are." Elijah rebuked. "A missile base, full of Old World weapons! These survivors haven't changed at all, they're just manipulating Ulysss to get the biggest weapons of all!" He raved, ignoring the hypocrisy of the fact hetried to do the exact same thing. "The Brotherhood is dead and buried, and it is best we keep it that way!"

"Yes Father." Veronica replied with a sad sigh.

Securitrons were pushed in to battle the remaing Brotherhood members. Their numbers were in the single digits, a meager collection of those outside of the bunker during it's destruction, including those spying on the NCR and Hidden Valley's night patrol, and one or two you ran out as the countdown approached zero.

They were being directed by a bald woman sitting at a control panel/desk in what was once the base commander's office. "Ulysses, this is Christine. The enemy has entered the base and our soldiers are being overrun. We might be able to keep the Marked Men out, but their numbers are simply too great. Where's that surprise you promised us?"

"You've played your last part, and your order's history is coming to an end. Been living on borrowed time anyway. Here's your surprise. Don't think you're going to like it." Spoke Ulysses as the transmission ended and the control desk exploded in a shower of sparks.

"Bastard!" Swore Christine as she has been betrayed yet again. The only other way out blocked, the Brotherhood assassin fled towards the exit to Hopeville.

Meanwhile, the battle was turning against the Brotherhood, just like Ulysses had. The individual paladins could match any of Seth's soldiers individually, but history was repeating itself as the superior numbers of The Courier swiftly overcame the minute amounts of the Brotherhood.

Veronica found herself nearing the end of the base, following behind a large number of robots. Elijah was meddling with the base's computers, having already opened all the doors. When she saw who it was, Veronica was shaken for the second time today. "Christine?"

The asassin, who was trying to unseal the base door in between gunning down the robots, spun around with her laser rifle, but lowered it a bit when she saw who it was. "Veronica?" She asked as the renegade stepped forward. Christine tensed up and readied her weapon. "Stay right there, Veronica. I know who you're working for!"

"Christine, you can't still be echoing the codex, not after everything that's happened!" Veronica asked, having never been told the full story of her lover by Seth or Elijah. "Come back to Vegas with me! Seth and Elijah aren't bad people! Not really fun at parties, but not bad. We can do so much together, Christine, please come back to me."

Christine, despite her initial joy that Veronica still loved her, felt something break inside when she realized how thoroughly in Elijah's thrall her lover was. "I will never again be his prisoner." She declared, jammed the laser rifle under her chin, and pulled the trigger.

As Christine's lifeless body hit the floor, Veronica did something she hadn't done in a long time.

Veronica began to cry.

Later, once the missile silo was firmly under The Courier's control, the second wave stood at the door to Hopeville, lead by Boone, as Veronica had withdrawn due to an emotional breakdown. Bracing themselves, the unit of soldiers spread out into the destroyed town as the door slid open.

After scanning the immediate area, one soldier turned to Boone. "Area seems clear, we are ready to establish beachhead."

Right after he finished talking, the soldiers head exploded.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Tunnel Rats

The assembled soldiers began diving for cover as more rounds pierced the air, burying into heads and hearts. Only one man moved with a purpose beyond seeking cover.

Boone, having determined the general direction of sniper fire, rushed through the killing zone, smashed through a gate, then belly crawled through the ruins of a building to get a closer look at his target.

Looking down the scope of his rifle, Boone got a good look at his foe: A man clad in modified Legion armor, covered from head to toe in the red uniform, Ulysses's follower: Styx.

Styx was barricaded inside the building that, unknown to Boone, contained the key to advancing into the Divide without Ulysses's intimate knowledge of the land: The Laser Detonator. The ex-NCR took a shot and missed, but that was alright, Boone just wanted to get his attention.

Styx took notice of Boone, crouching down behind the destroyed wall and returning fire. The two drowned out the world and concentrated entirely on their sniper dual, trading high powered shots, hair's width away from a quick death.

Fire, duck, an inch to the left, inch to the right, up, duck, fire, hide, shoot. A single flaw, the slightest misstep would spell death. The two snipers fall into a trance.

Boone looks down from a cliff, putting the woman he loves in the crosshairs, a numb sort of horror gripping his heart as he knows what must happen but is unable to stop it.

For Styx, he remembers almost nothing about his target, the head of some Ghoul community he'd been ordered by Vulpus to kill. He remembers hiding for days, slowing feeling the death in the air mold and rot his skin, marking him for his dedication to Caesar. The kill itself was not important, but what came next...

Styx was cast from the Legion, shunned for the sign of his service, a body wide medal by the background radiation. He wandered in a dull haze, until Ulysses found him, and gave him a way to continue serving Caesar's ideals.

Both sniper's murderous haze was suddenly broken as the ex-legionarie's fortification erupted in flames, Securitron missiles splitting the sky. It takes the surviving sniper a moment to return to reality as his fellow troopers rush across the now safe ground to secure the area.

The progress of The Courier's army was delayed by the destruction of the Laser Detonator in the missile barrage that killed Styx, but the road forward was eventually cleared by the heavy lifting of the robot army. The delay gave Seth time to arrive at the front and oversee the army's progress.

"Now, who just goes and leaves a perfectly good warhead lying around in the dirt like this?" Seth questioned as his techies examined one of the warheads that had been dug from the roadblock. Inspection revealed them to be live. "Get me some soldiers to secure these warheads and move them out of the combat zone. I think the Boomers will appreciate a little gift."

"But sir, those soldiers would be unable to re-enter the battle quickly should our remaining troops prove insufficient." A captain objected.

"Are you questioning me, soldier?" Seth asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll convey your orders immediately, sir." The captain replied quickly.

"Good help is so hard to find..." Seth mumbled as he approaches Raul, currently operating a makeshift communication center inside an army bunker. "How goes the battle, my leather skinned friend?"

"Well, besides the fact that our heavy hitter robots are on courier duty and we've only just wiped out a group of ugly basterds that make me look like a beauty queen, we aren't doing too bad." Raul stated to The Courier in a tone as dry as his skin. "Oh, and we lost contact with the team you sent into that underpass, but I'm sure it's just the tons of rubble cutting off the radios. They likely haven't been torn apart by some radioactive death machine."

"OK, I'll make sure the next team is composed of our best people." Seth reassured him. "Have our scanners picked up anything?"

"Nothing specific yet boss, but there are definitly some big pre-war sites up ahead. You better be ready boss, 'cause whatever's at the end of this road, it's a big one."

Later, in the low road, Cass and Follows-Chalk lead the second wave. The soldiers move carefully, staying bunched together and keeping eyes open for whatever got the first wave.

"The hell..?" Cass breathes as the first body is discovered. The legs had been ripped to shreds and the skull was split open. "What the fuck could have done this?"

"It almost... Seems like a gecko attack." Follows Chalk spoke up.

"No fucking gecko could have done this." Cass responded. "This poor bastard had his legs clawed to shreds.

"You're right about that, but a trick of the geckos, espically the small ones, is to cut up the legs, then bite the head." Follows-Chalk explained. "My guess is whatever did this is the same size of a gecko."

While the caravaner and the tribal discussed the corpse, the other soldiers surveyed their surroundings. The shadows seemed to edd and nudge, little dark movements in the corner of their eyes.

A low growl suddenly cut through the air as pairs of glowing eyes began to emerge from the ground itself.

An inexperienced trooper cuts loose with his assault carbine while backing away from the Tunnelers in a panic. He unknowingly backed right into a tunneler hole. One of the mutant reptiles emerged behind him, slashed him across the legs, and dragged him down the hole.

The soldier screamed all the way down.

The rest of the squad was on the verge of losing it as well, but Cass managed to pull them together. "Everyone, form together and get back to back! Nail the fuckers before they get too close!"

Cass's tactic of "circling the wagons" allowed them to hold off the Tunneler assault without further losses. Once the mutants were all dead, Cass dropped a few sticks of dynamite down the tunnels.

One thing that had gone unnoticed in all the fighting, however, was an active radio hidden underneath a sheet of thin metal.

The other receiver currently sat on a table on the highway just ahead. Costello took a drag off a cigarette, then activated a second radio. "Ulysses? It's Costello. The Tunnelers didn't stop the Courier's men, but I'm sure the savages and lover boy up there can stop them. Costello out."


End file.
